# Federal Prison Consulting (federalprisondude.com) Full text of the public site in one file. Each section starts with the canonical URL it came from. The index version is at https://federalprisondude.com/llms --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/ # Prison advice from a dude who did it I'm a white-collar offender who spent time in federal prison. The statute of limitations of my feelings has not run out, so here I am. I've been through it all: I did time in jail pre-trial, surrendered to the marshals (reporting to prison on your own), was cuffed on con-air (the federal system that transports inmates), did a month in the SHU (solitary), lost access to my TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored), had my FSA (the 2018 law behind earned time credits) fucked up, almost crashed out of a halfway house (the halfway house before release), did house arrest (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring), and I'm now on supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole). The system isn't theoretical to me. I still report to it. **[I answer questions for free](https://federalprisondude.com/contact).** I also write guides on how a [given prison operates](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons), [how to thrive in the joint](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like), and [a whole lot more](https://federalprisondude.com/resources), all of it to make the world's shittiest experience a little more bearable. [Paid consults exist](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant) for people who need more than an answer. Most people don't. ## Which side of this are you on? I've written for both sides, because the two situations have almost nothing in common. The person going has a fixed stretch to get through. Everyone else has no end date at all. Each side gets a quick version, a searchable FAQ, and a long one. ### [Your name is on the docket](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison) Checklists, answered questions, and guides for before you go, while you're in, and after you get out. ### [Somebody you love is going](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families) Checklists, answered questions, and a long guide to the side of this your loved one never sees. If you think you're [under investigation and nothing has been filed](https://federalprisondude.com/under-federal-investigation), that stage has its own page. It mostly tells you to go hire a lawyer instead of reading me. ## Read first. Ask second. Half of what lands in my inbox is already answered on this site. Calculators that do the sentencing math, a guide for every facility (and more coming), the Bureau's rulebook translated into regular talk. ### [Time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) The only thorough calculator for how long they'll actually serve: good conduct time, FSA credits, jail credit. ### [PATTERN calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator) The risk score that decides whether FSA credits apply at all. Run it against the BOP's own internal system. ### [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) How each prison actually runs, what the culture is like, and a blank where I don't know. ### [Support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) The Facebook groups run by spouses and moms, by facility. The best intel about any specific prison lives here. ### [Annotated Program Statements](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements) The BOP's own rulebook, translated into plain boring English. ### [The glossary](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-slang-and-terms) Slang and not-so-slang, A&O (your disorienting first days of intake) through UDC (the unit-level hearing for minor write-ups). Know the words before somebody uses one on you. [Browse all the resources](https://federalprisondude.com/resources) ## Two ways to get answers. I write down everything I can, but you'll have questions I haven't covered. Two ways to get them answered. For free Option one ### Ask me anything You email a question. I answer it. That's it. - Ask anything and I'll answer it. No form, no phone call, no money. - Answers come from a dude who did it, not from a subscription to a legal database or lawyer. - I don't give legal advice, because I'm not a lawyer. If I don't know, I'll tell you I don't know. That's rarer in this industry than you'd hope. Again, I don't offer legal advice. I'm not a lawyer and won't pretend. [Ask a question](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) Limited Basis Option two ### Book a consult Scheduled time, Zoom, and my full attention. - For loved ones: I'll provide tips and tricks (This is not material relating to acquiring contraband.) that you won't ever get on a public website. - An app for managing character references for sentencing, halfway house, etc. if applicable. - Sentencing prep and PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) review, before that document follows you around for a decade. - Self-surrender planning: what to bring, what happens, what to tell people. - Designation (which prison you're assigned to), RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year), First Step Act credits (time off earned through programming), halfway house strategy. A few slots a month. I have a day job. When they're gone, they're gone, but the free lane stays open. [How consults work](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant) **In short:** free gets you an answer. Paid gets you depth. If your question has a simple answer, I'm not going to make it transactional. ## Your loved one can ask me directly, through TRULINCS. Your loved one can email me from TRULINCS using a dedicated email address to avoid problems at the facility. You can get a copy of every email, unless your loved one asks me to keep one private. Their privacy comes first, sorry. The same account manages your [facility alerts](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe). [How Insider Tools works](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools)[The TRULINCS rules, annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging) ## I did time. I'm not a former prosecutor, a retired BOP employee, or a "federal prison expert" with a podcast or TikTok following. I served my time at a low, did the house arrest, and I still report to the system, because supervised release doesn't end when you start a website. I'm not a lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice. What I have is the stuff lawyers can't tell you because they've never been inside: what the first week feels like, what commissary (the prison store) actually looks like, how the system screws up FSA credits, and which rules get enforced and which ones are theater. While you're here: read [who I work best with](https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it), [what "consultants" selling legal work are actually selling](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work), and [why nobody can get you into the facility of your choice](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). Even if you never email me, don't pay those people. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/contact # Ask. It's free Ask a question about federal prison, whether that is before, during, or after. One question or five. No intake form, no discovery call, no invoice, and no follow-up sequence trying to convert you into a customer. ### What helps me answer well Where things stand (charged, pleaded, sentenced, already in), the facility if you know it, and what's actually keeping you up at night. You don't need to tell me the whole case. I don't need it, and honestly, the less legally sensitive detail in an email, the better. Never send me legal documents, and remember that if your loved one is asking through TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored), the Bureau (the federal Bureau of Prisons) reads it too. ### Asking from the inside If your loved one is already in, they can ask me directly through TRULINCS, and you set it up out here in about a minute. ### Need more than an answer? If your situation needs a plan (sentencing prep, self-surrender (reporting to prison on your own), designation (which prison you're assigned to) strategy), that's the paid lane, available on a limited basis. [Tell me what's going on](https://federalprisondude.com/contact?ask=consult) and the screening costs nothing, or read [how consults work](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant) first. If you're not sure which lane you're in, just ask the question. I'll tell you honestly, and "you don't need a consult" is my most common answer. Not legal advice, ever. I'm not a lawyer. If your question needs one, I'll say so and point you at the right kind. No Charge The question Prefer email? [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question) works exactly the same. I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. ### More than an answer. A plan. Most questions about federal prison have a free answer, and you can get one out of me by email today. Some situations are past that. A sentencing date three weeks out, a PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) that got the story wrong, somebody at home who has to run the whole house alone starting Monday. **$1,000.** Three hours on Zoom, broken into two or three sittings a few days apart, and a written plan when we're done. A few slots a month. If a thousand isn't real for you right now, the sliding scale is, so say so. Nothing gets charged from this page. You tell me what's going on, I write back, and we work out whether you should pay me. "You don't need this" is the most common way these end. **Money shouldn't decide this.** If $1,000 isn't realistic, say so in the box and we'll land on a number that is. You don't have to prove anything or open your books to me. The long version, including the four steps, the people I'm no use to, and why there are no testimonials on it: [how consults work](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant). Rather not fill out a form? [Just ask the question](https://federalprisondude.com/contact). Free is the default here, and email works the same: [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Consult) What happens next 1. You get a receipt right away with a copy of what you sent. 2. Then I write back myself, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. 3. We work out whether a consult is worth your money. The screening is free. 4. If it's not a fit, you get your answers anyway and we're done. Nobody has ever been invoiced for being told they don't need me. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant # More than an answer. A plan Most questions about federal prison have a free answer, and you can get one out of me by email today. Some situations are past that. A sentencing date three weeks out, a PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) that got the story wrong, somebody at home who has to run the whole house alone starting Monday. **$1,000.** Three hours on Zoom, broken into two or three sittings a few days apart, and a written plan when we're done. A few slots a month. If a thousand isn't real for you right now, the sliding scale is, so say so. Nothing gets charged from this page. You tell me what's going on, I write back, and we work out whether you should pay me. "You don't need this" is the most common way these end. **Money shouldn't decide this.** If $1,000 isn't realistic, say so in the box and we'll land on a number that is. You don't have to prove anything or open your books to me. Rather not fill out a form? [Just ask the question](https://federalprisondude.com/contact). Free is the default here, and email works the same: [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Consult) What happens next 1. You get a receipt right away with a copy of what you sent. 2. Then I write back myself, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. 3. We work out whether a consult is worth your money. The screening is free. 4. If it's not a fit, you get your answers anyway and we're done. Nobody has ever been invoiced for being told they don't need me. ## What the money buys **Three hours of scheduled Zoom time.** Two 90 minute calls or three 60 minute ones, your pick, spaced out on purpose. Nobody absorbs this for three hours straight. You take what we covered, sit with it, and come back with the questions you didn't know to ask. The second call is always better than the first. **The plan in writing.** What to do, in what order, what to ignore. Plain enough to forward to your mother or your attorney without explaining it first. **[Vouch](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/character-reference-letters), switched on for your case.** Character letters for sentencing, collected without running a twenty person group text from your kitchen table. Everybody gets their own link, nobody makes an account, and the finished set downloads as one file for your lawyer. I only turn it on for people I work with. ## Four steps, and you can stop at any of them 1. Fill out the form at the top of this page. A few sentences. No documents, no case numbers. 2. You get a receipt on the spot. Then I read it myself and tell you whether a consult is worth your money. Usually a couple of days. I have a day job. 3. If it isn't, you get the answer free and we're done. No follow up sequence, nobody circling back next quarter. 4. If it is, we put the calls on the calendar at the price printed up top. No retainer, no meter running, no tiers. ## Who I'm actually useful to Worth the money - Sentencing is coming and the PSR isn't final. - Self-surrender (reporting to prison on your own) is on the calendar and nobody has told you what the first week is. - You're the spouse, parent, or sibling running everything from out here. - They're already in and the FSA credits (time off earned through programming) or the halfway house (the halfway house before release) referral got fouled up. - White collar or drug case, headed to a camp, a low, or a medium. Not worth the money - You need a lawyer. If step one is "hire a lawyer," I'll say it for free. - You want a promise about [which prison they'll go to](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). Nobody can deliver that. - You want [a motion or a packet written](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work) by someone who isn't a lawyer. That's a crime with an invoice attached. - The destination is a high or a USP. Outside my lane, and I won't take your money on it. [The long version is on the good fit page](https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it): the levels I lived, the ones I'm working from other people's accounts on, and the one case type I turn down. ## There are no testimonials on this page If there were, you'd have to take my word that I didn't write them, and you have no way to check. Three things you can check instead. 1. **Everything I know is already free here.** Read a [facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) or the [First Step Act pages](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison) and decide whether the person who wrote them understands the system. 2. **I turn people away in writing.** The [good fit page](https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it) names what I can't speak to and who I refuse. It costs me money and it's staying up. No referral fees either, from anybody, anywhere on this site. 3. **I did the time.** Eighteen months at a low, house arrest after, and I still report to a probation officer. Not a former prosecutor with a podcast. [The full disclosure](https://federalprisondude.com/disclaimer) is binding on everything I write. ## What people ask me first ### How do I know I even need one? You probably don't. The screening is free and "you don't need to pay me" is the most common thing I say. [Ask the question for free first](https://federalprisondude.com/contact). If it turns out you need more, the form is right here. ### Can you get them sent to a specific prison? No, and neither can anybody else. The Bureau designates people off a scoring sheet and its own bed space. Anyone selling placement is selling something they can't deliver. [Here's how designation actually works](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). ### Are you a prison consultant? That's the phrase, and it's what people search, so it's what I get called. It isn't a job. There's no license behind it, no exam, and no board, so the title tells you nothing about anybody wearing it, me included. What I actually do is closer to a guide: I went through this recently, I write down what I learned, and I answer questions from people who are about to go through it. [Here's the whole industry in one place](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-consultants-list), me on it, so you can judge the person instead of the label. ### Is this legal advice? No. I'm not a lawyer and never was. Anything with a case caption belongs to an attorney, and if that's what you need, your plan will say so on line one. ### Will you write a motion or put together a packet? No. A non-lawyer charging to draft your filings is committing a crime and handing you the bill. [That page names the rules it breaks](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work). What I do is the prep and the plan around your lawyer's work. ### Do you work with my kind of case? Almost certainly. White collar and drug cases are where I'm deepest, since that's who fills camps and lows, and the machinery around designation, programs, money, and visits runs the same whatever the charge. One case type I turn down, one security level I stay out of, both named on [the good fit page](https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it). ### Do you talk to families, or only the person going in? Both, and most of my questions come from the outside. A spouse or a parent has a completely different set of problems than the person walking in the door. ### How fast can we talk? Depends what's open. Put your date in the form and I'll tell you straight whether I can be useful in the time you've got. If it's too tight, I'll say that and answer what I can for free. ## Tell me what you're facing and I'll tell you the truth about it Worst case, you spend four minutes on a form and get a free answer from somebody who has been where your person is going. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it # Who I work best with. Fit matters more in this business than almost any other, because what you're getting, free or paid, is the overlap between my experience and your situation. Consultants (the phrase people search for, not a licensed job) who claim their experience covers everyone are telling you something about themselves. Here's the honest map of mine. ## Security levels — Lows, camps, and mediums. First, the part nobody tells you: federal prisons come in security levels. Minimum (everyone calls these camps), low, medium, and high, plus a few special-purpose facilities. If you don't know which one applies to your loved one yet, that's normal. Most people don't until designation (which prison you're assigned to) happens. Here's the rule of thumb: if you don't know your level, you're probably a low. People headed somewhere serious tend to know it, because the case tells them. It comes down to a [scoring sheet](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification), and most first-time, nonviolent people score out to a camp or a low. If you're pre-sentencing and want a real answer instead of a rule of thumb, just ask me. Working out where someone is likely headed is a five-minute conversation. I did eighteen months at a low, which makes lows home turf: the rhythms, the count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times, the jobs worth having, which rules get enforced and which are theater, what the first week actually feels like. Low-security culture is pretty consistent facility to facility, so advice about one low mostly holds at another, and where it doesn't I can name the difference. If your loved one is headed to a low, there's very little I haven't seen or sat next to. Camps are the easier end of the same system, and most of what I know about them comes from men who transferred down or were headed there. The day-to-day is looser, the fence is gone, and the rules underneath are the ones I lived. I can tell you what to expect at a camp. I'll tell you when I'm working from someone else's account rather than my own. Mediums take more care, because mediums vary. Two facilities with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. I know a number of mediums well, through people I trust who lived them. Where I don't know a specific facility, I'll tell you that plainly, because guessing about a medium's culture isn't advice. It's noise with my name on it. This is also where [the facility-specific groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) earn their keep, and I'll point you there without pretending I'm the better source. Highs and USPs are outside my lane entirely. I won't take your money or your time on them, and I'd be careful with anyone who claims fluency in every level of the system, because that fluency doesn't exist. ## Case types — Any case but one. White-collar is my lane for the obvious reason: it's what I lived, from indictment through supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole), including all the parts nobody warns you about between those two bookends. Drug cases are the other lane I know well, because lows and camps are substantially populated by drug sentences. That means the machinery around them (RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year), First Step Act credits (time off earned through programming), the halfway house (the halfway house before release) math, the program waitlists) is machinery I watched work and fail up close, on people I ate breakfast with. **One hard line:** I don't work with people who have been convicted of crimes specifically related to physically touching children. That's not a moral verdict. The courts handled that part, and re-litigating anyone isn't my job or my business. It's a personal limit: I can't do my best work there, and you deserve someone who can, not someone whose difficulty with it would show. Consultants who specialize in exactly those cases exist. I'll wish you well finding one; I won't be that person. Everything else is fine: firearms, fraud-adjacent, immigration, the genuinely weird federal stuff. My deepest experience is white-collar and drug because that's who fills lows and camps, but the machinery of the system (designation, programs, money, visits, family logistics) works the same regardless of the charge, and so do I. ## And the family — If you're the spouse, parent, or sibling: you fit by definition. Most of my questions come from the outside, not the inside. You don't need to qualify, and your loved one's case type matters less for your questions (money, visits, phones, staying sane) than it does for theirs. [Ask.](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) Not sure where you land on any of the above? Ask that too. The answer's free, like the rest of them. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/disclaimer # Consider the source Everything on this site comes from one guy with one conviction, who was only at one federal facility. It is also a business that takes money from people in the worst stretch of their lives. You should know all this before you weigh a word of it. So here it is in one place, instead of scattered across pages nobody reads in order. ## The license I don't have — I'm not a lawyer. Never was, never will be. I can't read a fucking book. Nothing here is legal advice. Please don't treat it like it. A lawyer carries a bar license, malpractice insurance, and privilege. I carry none of the three, and I barely have health insurance. Whatever you send me isn't privileged, and if I'm wrong there's no board you can complain to, you'll just hate me. Anything with a case caption on it belongs to an attorney: motions, appeals, 2255s, sentencing arguments, anything filed anywhere. When someone asks me that stuff, the answer is get a lawyer, and I say it for free. See also [what non-lawyers selling legal work are actually selling](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work). ## The record — I'm a convicted felon, and that cuts both ways. I had a sports streaming website. [My case was very well-covered](https://www.google.com/search?q=hehestreams). I don't hide from it. While I certainly dispute some of the characterizations made, I definitely, certainly, positively had a sports streaming website. [I talk about my version of events here](https://josh.mn/prison). I'm on supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole) right now. This chapter is coming to a close, but it's not closed. I've gone through every step of the prison experience: I was jailed pre-trial, barely survived a detention hearing and ended up in a halfway-house pre-trial, then was strapped to an ankle monitor once I pleaded guilty (and thus deemed safe, I guess?); I self-surrendered, ended up in holding for 45 days, then transit for two weeks before finally landing at FCI Thomson the day after Christmas 2024. I went to the SHU, had my email taken away, my FSA fucked up, my SCA fucked up even worse. When I was finally released from prison, the halfway house had no idea that I was supposed to be on home confinement, and that took a few weeks to straighten out. Eventually I ended up on probation. [The whole thing step by step, annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-case-timeline): what each stage is officially called, and what it actually was. What my experience affords is the stuff nobody who hasn't lived it can tell you, at the cost of neutrality. I was on the receiving end of the Bureau of Prisons, and it shows in how I write about them. When you read me on the BOP, you're reading someone the BOP had. It's also one flavor of the experience. One security level, one facility, one stretch. Wardens change, policy changes, and a compound can go from calm to political in a season. My time is a data point, not a survey. I still answer to a probation officer (who supervises you after release). I don't think that changes my answers, but I'd be lying if I told you it can't. There are things a person under supervision thinks twice about publishing. ## The money — I sell something, and this whole site is marketing for it. [For things that I can't answer, I sell consults](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant). It costs money, and there's a sliding scale if my numbers aren't realistic. I take a limited number of cases so I can provide the best version of me. On the other side, I answer questions for free. Most people who email me get an answer and never pay anything. That's ultimately the point of writing everything down here. The free calculators, the facility guides, the annotated program statement (an official BOP policy document) pages: they exist partly because free work builds trust and shows I know the material. Trust sells consults. That doesn't make the math wrong, because the math is still the math. It does mean you're reading someone with a reason to be liked. When I tell you that you don't need a consult, that's true. It's also good marketing. Both things can be true at once. ## The money, part two — Client money is the only money. No referral fees, no affiliate links, no paid placement, no kickbacks, ever. I reject money from lawyers regularly. If a person, a company, or a group gets named on this site, it's because I think it helps you. Nobody bought the mention. That won't change. ## The competition — I openly, regularly trash the industry. I get called a prison consultant (the phrase people search for, not a licensed job), which is a search term rather than a job, and it puts me in the same bucket as everybody I am about to criticize. [The whole bucket is listed here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-consultants-list), me included. Some pages on this site exist to warn you off other people's products: the one about [paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work), the one about [paying to get to a specific facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison), and [the myths and facts of the consulting industry](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you), which is the one that includes the eight questions you should be asking me. I believe every word of all three. My partner paid one of these people for a promise. I was the one it was made about. So here is my warning: a popular TikTok does not mean somebody's word is good. Neither does a website, including this one. Being a doctor doesn't make you a good doctor either. I also compete with the people they describe, and I benefit when you walk away from them and toward me. That's a conflict of interest sitting right on top of an argument I think is correct. ## The limits — I don't know everything, and I say so when I don't. I was at a low. That part I lived. Lows resemble each other closely enough that most of the day-to-day carries over, and I'll say where it doesn't. Camps I know from the outside in, through people who did that time. Mediums the same way, which is watching rather than living. Highs and penitentiaries are outside my lane entirely, and I say so instead of guessing. Where I do pass on secondhand knowledge, it's sourced and I name the source. The longer version of all that is [who I work best with](https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it). The facility guides mix three sources: what I lived, what people inside or recently out have told me, and public records. Where a page is working from secondhand information, it says so. Where you can't tell, ask me and I'll tell you which it is. I'd rather say "I don't know" than fill the gap with something that sounds right. ## The seals — Nobody official is behind this. Not the Bureau of Prisons, not the Department of Justice, not the courts. I'm not former staff, I don't have a back channel, and nobody at the BOP reviews a word of this site. Which also means I can't move a designation (which prison you're assigned to), get anyone into RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year), add FSA credits (time off earned through programming), or shake loose a halfway house (the halfway house before release) date. Neither can anyone who tells you they can, for any price. The program statement annotations are the Bureau's own text with my plain-English gloss next to it. The quoted policy is theirs and it's authoritative. The translation is mine and it isn't. ## The shelf life — This stuff goes stale. Program statements get reissued. First Step Act guidance shifts. PATTERN (the risk score affecting your credits) scoring gets retuned. Halfway house math moves with bed space and whoever's running the region that month. I update pages when I catch a change, not the day it happens. So for anything that decides a date or a placement, check me against the current program statement, a case manager (the staffer who controls your release date), or your attorney. I'd rather be checked than quoted. **The short version:** felon, no license, one facility's worth of firsthand experience, and a business underneath the free stuff. The free stuff is still real. So is the sales pitch under it. Weigh accordingly, and [ask me anything you want to ask](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) once you have. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-case-timeline # Every step, in order One case, start to now. The left column is what the step is called. The right column is what it actually was. ## How to read this — One case is a data point, not a survey This is one district, one facility, one stretch. Yours will differ in the details and it will not differ much in the shape. ## Part 1 — Before the door Everything between the case and the prison. ### 01 Arrested 10/28/2021 My federal arrest started with more than two-dozen agents hitting my apartment door down. It was Thursday morning around 6AM. [Before the charge](https://federalprisondude.com/under-federal-investigation) > TODO: what the first appearance was actually like. ### 02 Arraignment 10/28/2021 I was given an initial appearance the same day. The judge reads the charge, appoints counsel if you need it, and sets the next hearing. Nothing about guilt gets decided. The only question on the table is whether you go home until the case is over. I wasn't lucky that day. [Before the charge](https://federalprisondude.com/under-federal-investigation) > TODO: what the first appearance was actually like. ### 03 The detention hearing TODO date The government can move to hold you until the case ends. The judge weighs flight risk and danger, and either releases you on conditions or detains you. Detention is not part of the sentence, though the days count toward it later. > TODO: what the hearing actually was, and how close it came. ### 04 Pretrial halfway house TODO date A halfway house is the middle option: not jail, not home. You live at an RRC (the halfway house before release) on a curfew, sign in and out, and answer to pretrial services rather than to a case manager. > TODO: what living there before the case ended was actually like. ### 05 Pleading guilty TODO date A plea is a written agreement plus a hearing where the judge asks whether you understand what you are giving up. Guilt is settled that day. Sentencing is months later, and release conditions can move in either direction the moment the plea is entered. > TODO: what changed the day you pleaded. ### 06 On a monitor TODO date Location monitoring is a condition of release, not a sanction, at least on paper. The monitor reports where you are to pretrial services. You get an approved schedule, and being somewhere you did not clear is a violation of release rather than a new charge. > TODO: what wearing it actually was. ### 07 Sentencing TODO date Probation writes a PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) first, and it reaches the prison before you do. At the hearing the judge runs the guidelines, hears both sides, and imposes a number. The judge can recommend a facility and can recommend RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year). Recommendations are not orders. [Before sentencing](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/before-sentencing) > TODO: what the day actually was. ### 08 Designated TODO date After sentencing the BOP decides where. Designation (which prison you're assigned to) runs on a points system and takes weeks, sometimes longer. Until it lands you do not know the facility, the state, or the date you report. [Sentenced, waiting for designation](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/waiting-for-designation) > TODO: how long the wait was and how you found out. ### 09 Self-surrender TODO date If you're allowed to surrender, you report yourself on a date somebody else picked, at a place somebody else picked, without being arrested. [Designated, counting down](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/counting-down-to-self-surrender) > TODO: the last morning, and what reporting actually was. ## Part 2 — Inside Holding, transit, and FCI Thomson, a men's low. ### 10 Holding TODO date, 45 days Surrendering does not always mean going straight to the prison. People sit in a contract jail or a detention center first, sometimes for weeks. No programming, no property, no yard. It counts as time served and it does not feel like the sentence starting. > TODO: forty-five days of it. What that actually was. ### 11 In transit TODO date, two weeks The BOP moves people on its own schedule, by bus and by JPATS (the federal system that transports inmates), through holdover facilities nobody names in advance. Mail does not follow you. Phone and email stop. Your family finds out where you went once you are already there. > TODO: two weeks of transit. What that actually was. ### 12 FCI Thomson December 26, 2024 Arrival is intake, screening, a unit, a bunk, a job, and a team that owns your paperwork. [Doing time at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison) > TODO: the day after Christmas. Intake, the first night, and how long it took to get on TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored). ### 13 The SHU April 9, 2024 The SHU (solitary) is a separate unit, two to a cell, twenty-three hours in. You go there after a shot (a disciplinary write-up) or while something is being investigated, and administrative detention needs no finding against you at all. Property, phone, email and visits stop while you are in it. [Shakedowns, the hole, and lockdowns](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/shakedowns-the-shu-and-lockdowns) > TODO: why, how long, and what it actually was. ### 14 The SHU April 23, 2024 The SHU is a separate unit, two to a cell, twenty-three hours in. You go there after a shot or while something is being investigated, and administrative detention needs no finding against you at all. Property, phone, email and visits stop while you are in it. [Shakedowns, the hole, and lockdowns](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/shakedowns-the-shu-and-lockdowns) > TODO: why, how long, and what it actually was. ### 15 The SHU May 2, 2024 The SHU is a separate unit, two to a cell, twenty-three hours in. You go there after a shot or while something is being investigated, and administrative detention needs no finding against you at all. Property, phone, email and visits stop while you are in it. [Shakedowns, the hole, and lockdowns](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/shakedowns-the-shu-and-lockdowns) > TODO: why, how long, and what it actually was. ### 16 The SHU May 2, 2024 The SHU is a separate unit, two to a cell, twenty-three hours in. You go there after a shot or while something is being investigated, and administrative detention needs no finding against you at all. Property, phone, email and visits stop while you are in it. [Shakedowns, the hole, and lockdowns](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/shakedowns-the-shu-and-lockdowns) > TODO: why, how long, and what it actually was. ### 17 Losing email TODO date, TODO how long Discipline runs through a UDC (the unit-level hearing for minor write-ups) for minor write-ups and a DHO (the officer who hears serious write-ups) for serious ones. The sanctions come off a menu: good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble), commissary, phone, visits, email. Losing email is the one that lands on your family, because they are the ones who stop hearing from you. > TODO: what losing it actually cost, on both ends. ### 18 The FSA math TODO date FSA credits (time off earned through programming) come off the back of a sentence, and what they move is your halfway house date. The BOP does the arithmetic on a sheet your unit team (the staff who run your daily life) prints. When the sheet is wrong, nothing happens automatically and the work of proving it is yours. > TODO: how it got fucked up, and what fixing it took. ### 19 Second Chance Act time TODO date The Second Chance Act allows up to twelve months in a halfway house at the end of a sentence. The unit team recommends a number, the region and the RRC have to agree, and there is almost nothing to appeal. Two people with the same sentence can get twelve months and thirty days. > TODO: what you were told, what you got, and the gap between them. ## Part 3 — Coming home The sentence ends before the supervision does. ### 20 The halfway house TODO date An RRC is still custody. You sign in and out, you pay a percentage of your gross toward subsistence, and a violation there sends you back. Your paperwork travels separately from you, and what the halfway house believes about your case is what the halfway house acts on. [The halfway house and home confinement](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement) > TODO: they had no idea you were supposed to be on home confinement. What those weeks actually were. ### 21 Home confinement TODO date Home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring) is the last stretch of the sentence, served at your own address on the halfway house's schedule. It is not supervised release and it is not freedom. The schedule is approved in advance, and being somewhere you did not clear is treated the same as leaving. > TODO: what being home but not out actually was. ### 22 Supervised release ongoing A term of supervision follows the custodial sentence: a probation officer, conditions, and the standing possibility of going back for violating them rather than for a new crime. [Supervised release](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release) > TODO: how long the term is, and what supervision actually is day to day. ## Questions — Ask me about any of it **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20your%20timeline) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources # Things I wish I knew All free, obviously. Every page below also has a plain-text version: append `.md` to its URL. ## Start here The guides split by who you are, because the two situations have almost nothing in common. Everything after these two is for both. - [For the one going in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison.md): Your name is on the docket. The checklists, the FAQ, and four guides covering before you go, while you're in, doing time at a low, and getting out. - [For the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families.md): Somebody you love is going. The family checklists, the family FAQ, and a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and the release date. ## Run the numbers The math nobody does for you at sentencing, done in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. - [Time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator.md): How long your loved one will actually serve. Good conduct time, FSA credits, and jail credit. - [PATTERN score calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator.md): The risk score that decides whether FSA credits get applied at all. Score it yourself on the BOP's own form, with both the male and female instruments. ## Know the system What a specific facility is like, who to ask about it, and what the Bureau's own rulebook actually says. - [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons.md): Stamp rates, store markups, housing style, photo rules, and how each place runs. Per facility, with honest unknowns. - [Support groups, by facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups.md): The Facebook groups run by spouses and moms. The best intel about any specific prison lives here. - [Program statements worth reading](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements.md): The BOP's own rulebook: raw text, official links, and translations into regular talk where it matters. - [The glossary](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-slang-and-terms.md): Federal prison terms in plain English, tagged official or slang, with how I know each one. ## Before you pay anyone The two most common ways families get fleeced, and why. Read these even if you never email me. - [Paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work.md): The truth about "case reviews," motion templates, and the people selling them. - [Paying to get to XYZ facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison.md): Nobody can get you designated to a specific prison. Here's how designation actually works. ## In the works What self-surrender day actually looks like. Sending money without getting fleeced. TRULINCS and CorrLinks setup for families. First Step Act credits explained like you're a person and not a docket number. Want one bumped up the list? Say so. ## Questions are free These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question: https://federalprisondude.com/contact or josh@federalprisondude.com. **Answers are free**, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools # The part of this site that does something Everything else here is a page you read. These four act on your behalf: they watch the Bureau, they carry a question out of a facility, and they collect the letters your lawyer asked for. **Two of them need no account at all.** Facility alerts and the inmate tracker take an email address and nothing else, and either one is running in about a minute. ## The four — Pick the one you came for No account Facility alerts ### Receive alerts when visiting stops One email when a facility you watch suspends visits, and one when it lifts. No account Inmate tracker ### Track inmate location An email when the BOP moves them, revises the release date, or lets them out. Free account Inside Mail ### Let them reach me through TRULINCS The person inside asks their own questions and gets answers back. You get a copy unless they ask otherwise. By request Vouch ### Track and manage character references Collect letters for a hearing, approve them, and download the set for your attorney. ### Facility alerts No account The visiting room closes without warning. The BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) publishes an operations level for every facility and changes it without telling anybody. People find out at the gate, after the drive, with the kids in the back. I check every facility every five minutes. Pick the places you care about and you get one email when a visiting suspension starts and one when it lifts. No newsletter, no drip sequence, nothing else, ever. The BOP also under-reports. Quiet means they have not said anything, not that nothing is happening. An email address is the whole signup. An account is only useful if you want the alerts sitting next to your other tools. ### Inmate tracker No account Transfers are how families find out late. The Bureau publishes where every federal inmate is and when they are due out. It does not tell you when that changes. Most people learn about a transfer from a phone call that stopped coming. Give me a register number and I read the locator once a day. You get an email when the facility changes, when the projected release date moves, or when the release date lands. Nothing on a quiet day. It is the same public data anybody can load at bop.gov, read on a schedule so you do not have to. It is not inside information, it is often days behind an actual move, and a projected release date is an estimate the Bureau revises. ### Inside Mail Free account The questions belong to the person inside. The person doing the time has the questions. You are the one with the browser. That gap is the whole problem, and what gets lost in it is the specific stuff: the thing their case manager (the staff who run your daily life) said, the number on their FSA credits (time off earned through programming) sheet, what actually happened on the unit last week. So they get an address of their own. You generate it here, you give it to them, and from then on they email me directly from TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored) without going through you. - **You generate an address.** It is dedicated to one person. Give it to that person only, never reuse it, and never let it get passed around. A shared address is how it becomes a problem at the facility. - **They add it as a contact in TRULINCS.** Same as any other contact they add. That sends an invite to the address. - **I accept the invite.** That is the whole approval step in the normal case, and it happens on my end. Rarely, a facility makes staff sign off on a particular person's contacts before the invite goes out at all, and that wait belongs to the facility. - **They ask. I answer.** Same questions I answer by email from anybody else, and same price, which is nothing. - **You get a copy** , if you asked for one when you generated the address. ### Vouch By request Twenty people said they would write one. Six of them actually will. Three of those six will say what a great guy you are and nothing a judge can use. Two arrive the week after the deadline. You spend the worst month of your life chasing your own aunt for a Word document. Vouch is the tool for that month. You add the people, each one gets their own private link, and they write on the page with your instructions sitting next to them. You see who has started and who needs a nudge. Nobody makes an account. When it is done you download the approved letters as a single file and hand it to your attorney. It works the same for a bond hearing or a halfway house (the halfway house before release) decision. Same people, different ask. **This one is not on the free account.** I turn it on case by case, because what comes out of it goes in front of a judge and I would rather look at your situation first than hand out a login and hope. ## The rule — Their privacy comes first You can get a copy of every exchange that goes through Inside Mail. But if they ask me to keep one between us, I keep it between us, and you will not see that one. That is not negotiable and I am telling you upfront rather than after. They are the one serving the sentence. If the only way they will ask an honest question is knowing it does not get forwarded home, then that is the deal, and it is a better deal for both of you than them not asking. None of it is private from the Bureau either. TRULINCS messages are monitored like everything else that moves through it. [The TRULINCS rules, annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging). ## The cost — Free, and not a funnel The account is free, the address is free, the alerts are free, the tracking is free, and the answers are free. It is the same offer as emailing me from the outside, just pointed at the person who actually has the question. Vouch is the one exception. What I charge for is [a consult](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant), which is a different thing and a much smaller number of people. "You don't need to pay anyone for this" is still my most common answer, and it does not change because you made an account. If you want the honest version of how this industry works before you trust any of it, that is [over here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/before-you-pay-anyone). ## Straight answers — What this is not - **Not a way to message your loved one.** Inside Mail is a way for them to reach me. Your own mail with them runs the way it always did. - **Not legal advice.** I did the time, I am not a lawyer, and when the answer is "ask your attorney" that is the answer you get. - **Not unlimited.** I run a finite number of TRULINCS addresses at a time. If I am out when you go to generate one, the page will say so, and emailing me usually opens more up. - **Not instant.** I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. And in the rare case where staff have to sign off on their contacts first, that wait belongs to the facility and neither of us can move it. - **Not a tracking service for anybody you feel like looking up.** The locator is public, but I am not building you a surveillance tool. ## Getting started — About a minute, for two of them The alerts and the tracker want an email address and a confirmation click. There is no account at the end of it. The TRULINCS address is the one that needs you to sign up, because it generates something that belongs to you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Insider%20Tools%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/character-reference-letters # Character letters, collected without the group text Your lawyer asks for character letters. You ask twenty people. Six of them write one, three of those six say what a great guy you are and nothing a judge can use, and two arrive the week after the deadline. Then you spend the worst month of your life chasing your own aunt for a Word document. Vouch is the tool for that month. It is the fourth thing in [Insider Tools](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools), and the only one I turn on by request instead of leaving open. If you are a defense attorney You can run this for your practice instead of sending clients to me. Your own account, your own cases, and your office adds the writers, reads what comes in, and pulls the file. Nobody at my end touches your client's people or their letters. Email [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Vouch%20for%20our%20practice) and I will walk you through it. ## They get a link, not a homework assignment You put in the people. Each one gets their own private link by email. They click it, read your instructions on the same screen they are typing on, and write. It saves as they go, so the tab closing at 11pm does not cost them the letter. Nobody makes an account. Nobody downloads anything. Nobody has to figure out margins. The link is the whole credential, which matters because half the people you are asking are over sixty and the other half will do this on a phone in a parking lot. You watch the list fill in. Who opened it, who started, who has not touched it in a week. Reminders go out on their own so you are not the person texting your uncle for the fourth time. If somebody insists on paper, you can type theirs in yourself and it sits in the pile with the rest. ## Most character letters are useless, and it is not the writer's fault A judge reading your file has seen hundreds of these. The ones that do nothing all sound the same: he is a good man, he would give you the shirt off his back, this is out of character, please be lenient. Every one of those sentences is an opinion the judge has no reason to weigh. The ones that land are specific and they are boring. A woman writes that he has driven her to dialysis every Tuesday for six years and she does not know who does it if he goes away. A former employee writes what he actually did when the business nearly folded in 2019. A neighbor writes about the week after her husband died. None of that is an argument for leniency. It is evidence about a person, and it is the only thing in the envelope the judge cannot get anywhere else. The other half of the problem is that your people do not know this. They have never done it, they are scared of getting it wrong, and if you send them a template they will fill in the template and it will read like a filled-in template. So the instructions you write once, in your own words, sit on the page in front of every one of them while they type. That is most of what makes the difference. Your attorney runs your sentencing, not me and not this tool. Ask them who should write, what to emphasize, how many letters they want, and when they need them. Some lawyers want fifteen and some want five good ones. If what your lawyer says contradicts anything on this page, your lawyer is right. ## You decide what goes in the envelope A letter arriving does not put it in the pile. You read it, and then you approve it, decline it, or send it back with a note asking for a rewrite. The person gets the note, not a rejection. That last one is the option people skip and should not. Somebody who wrote three warm paragraphs about what a great guy you are will usually write the good version if you tell them what you actually need. They were not being lazy. They did not know. Declining is quiet. Nobody is told their letter got cut. ## One file, and your lawyer does not have to reformat it When you are done you download the approved letters as a single plain text file. Cover page, a contents list, then the letters in the order they came in. Optionally the writers' addresses, which some attorneys want and some do not. Plain text on purpose. It opens on anything, it does not argue about fonts, and it is hard wrapped so it looks the same on the clerk's screen as it did on yours. Nothing is spellchecked, smoothed, or rewritten on the way out. A letter that reads like a real person wrote it is the entire point, and a pass through a grammar checker is how you lose that. ## Same people, different hearing Sentencing is not the only time somebody asks you for letters. There is the bond hearing before it, and there can be a halfway house (the halfway house before release) decision after. Different ask, mostly the same list of people, and you should not have to rebuild that list from scratch each time. So the person comes first and the hearings hang off them. You keep one set of people and start a new collection against it whenever you need one. ## Straight answers — What this is not - **Not legal advice, and not a filing.** I did the time, I am not a lawyer, and I have no business telling you what your sentencing memorandum should say. This collects letters. Your attorney files them. - **Not a template mill.** There is no fill-in-the-blank letter in here, because a fill-in-the-blank letter is worth nothing and a judge can spot five of them in a row. - **Not a writing service.** Nobody here writes a word of anybody's letter, and nothing gets edited on its way out. - **Not a guarantee of anything.** Good letters help at the margin. They do not undo a guideline range, and anybody telling you a stack of letters changes your sentence is selling you something. - **Not open to everyone.** See below, and I would rather say this on the page than after you sign up. ## Getting access — Case by case, and here is why The other three tools are open to anybody with an email address. This one is not. What comes out of it goes in front of a federal judge at the worst moment of somebody's life, and I would rather look at your situation and your timeline first than hand out a login and hope it goes fine. So you email me. Tell me who it is for, what the hearing is, and when it is. If it is a fit I turn it on, and if it is not I will tell you that and usually tell you what to do instead, which is often "your lawyer's office already has a way to do this, use theirs." **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Character%20reference%20letters%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/under-federal-investigation # You think you're under investigation So, nothing has happened yet. That is the most important sentence on this page, and it means your choices right now matter more than they will at any later point. Read this first **I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.** This is what the process looks like and how to find someone who can actually help. Everything here points to a public source you can check. My [conflicts and limits](https://federalprisondude.com/disclaimer) are on their own page. _Pot Brothers at Law: A minute long and it is most of what you need. They are California weed lawyers talking about a traffic stop, not a federal agent at your door, so the script is not the one you want. The instinct is. The federal version has one extra requirement, which is that you have to say out loud that you are refusing. That part is below._ Video: [POT BROTHERS AT LAW ONE MINUTE TIP OF THE DAY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqo5RYOp4nQ) ## Right now, today — Four things, in this order 1. **Shut the fuck up** To coworkers, friends, family, the internet, or anyone in the same situation. There is no privilege protecting those conversations and every one of those people can be subpoenaed. And they do. 2. **Do not delete anything** Not emails, texts, files, photos, cloud storage, or accounts. This is the single most common way people turn a survivable case into a bad one. 3. **Get a federal criminal defense lawyer before you speak to anyone official** Not a business lawyer. Not a state criminal lawyer. The specifics are further down. 4. **If agents contact you, you're busy bathing your cat and don't have time to answer questions** Say so out loud rather than going quiet. Details below. That's pretty much it. More details below. ## The signals — How you'd know Investigations are usually quiet for a long time. Mine was six months. The common signals: - A target letter (A letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office telling you that prosecutors consider you a putative defendant. It is not a charge, and it is not nothing.) or subject letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office - A grand jury subpoena: to you, or to your bank, employer, or accountant - Agents showing up at your home or workplace, often early morning, often in pairs - Your bank, employer, or a vendor tells you they received a subpoena for your records - Coworkers or associates mention being interviewed - A search warrant executed anywhere connected to you - Accounts frozen or seized You may also have heard nothing and simply suspect it. That happens, and it is not paranoia. Most federal investigations run for a long time before the subject learns anything. ## The three words — Target, subject, witness DOJ uses these terms specifically, and they are defined in the Justice Manual at 9-11.151. - **Target**. Substantial evidence links you to a crime and prosecutors consider you a putative defendant. - **Subject**. Your conduct is within the scope of the grand jury's investigation. - **Witness**. You have information they want. These are not fixed. People move between them in both directions. A lawyer can often find out which one you are, which is one of the more valuable early things they do. ## The knock — If agents come to the door They may be polite. They may say they just want to clear something up, that this is your chance to tell your side, that it will go better if you cooperate now. **You are not required to speak to them.** But say it out loud rather than going silent. Bare silence before an arrest is not automatically protected. In _Salinas v. Texas_ the Supreme Court allowed a prosecutor to use a suspect's silence against him because he never actually said he was refusing. Refusing is protected. Going quiet is not the same thing. What to say, roughly verbatim "I'm not going to answer questions without my lawyer. Can I have your card?" Then stop. Do not explain why. Do not add context. Do not correct something they said. Worth knowing - **Agents are permitted to lie to you.** They can misstate what evidence they have, what others have said, and what happens next. - **You cannot lie to them.** A false statement to a federal agent is its own felony under 18 U.S.C. 1001, punishable independently of whatever they were investigating. People have gone to prison for the interview and nothing else. - **Do not consent to a search.** If they have a warrant they do not need consent. Ask to see it, do not interfere, and note what they take. - **Do not hand over your phone or passcode** without talking to a lawyer. - Write down everything you remember afterward: who, when, what was asked. If someone you know approaches you and steers the conversation toward what happened, assume it is recorded. This is ordinary and it is common. ## The worst mistake — The obstruction trap Read this part twice. **The most damaging thing people do at this stage is try to clean up.** Deleting emails. Wiping a phone. Shredding files. Calling a coworker to make sure your accounts match. Every one of those is potentially a separate, provable federal crime (obstruction, evidence tampering, conspiracy), and they share three qualities that make them catastrophic: - They are **easier to prove** than the underlying offense. - They happen **after** you knew, which destroys any argument you did not understand what you were doing. - They **add to the sentence** rather than replacing it. Preserve everything. If your lawyer wants something handled, they will tell you. Do not "get your story straight" with anyone. That phrase describes a conspiracy. ## Counsel — Finding the right lawyer You want a **federal criminal defense attorney with white collar experience in the district investigating you.** That is three specific requirements and each one matters. Not who you want - A business or corporate lawyer - A state criminal lawyer who does not practice in federal court - A general practitioner - Anyone who found you first Where to look - **NACDL** (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) has a public directory searchable by practice area and location. - **Your state or city bar association** white collar or criminal law section. - **Ask a lawyer you already trust** for a referral, even if they practice something unrelated. Lawyers know who the good federal defense attorneys are. - **Former AUSAs** from the district investigating you. They're expensive and a premium. But they know the office, sometimes the specific prosecutor, and how that office makes decisions. - Look at who handled recent similar cases in that district. Federal dockets are public through PACER (the public federal court records system). Questions to ask when you interview them: 1. How much of your practice is federal criminal defense? 2. Have you handled cases in this district, against this office? 3. Have you taken a case to trial? When? 4. What would you do in the first thirty days? 5. What is your fee structure, and what does it cover? 6. Who will actually be doing the work? 7. Have you ever gotten a declination (A decision by the prosecutor not to bring charges at all.) pre-indictment? Interview more than one. You are about to hand someone the next several years of your life. ## Money — What it costs The answer is money. Pre-indictment representation in a federal white collar matter typically runs into the tens of thousands of dollars, and complex cases go well beyond that. Fee structures vary: flat fees by phase, hourly with a retainer, or staged. **You are not eligible for a public defender until you are charged.** Federal defenders are appointed after indictment for people who qualify financially. The pre-indictment window, which is when a lawyer can do the most good, is the window with no public option. If money is the constraint, still call. Ask about limited-scope representation for the immediate crisis, payment structures, or a consultation to at least get oriented. Some attorneys will do a reduced-scope engagement to handle contact with the government. That is worth far more than nothing. And if you end up with an appointed federal defender later, understand that many of them are excellent. Do not assume otherwise. ## The leverage — What a lawyer can actually do before charges This is why the timing matters. Before an indictment, defense counsel has leverage they will never have again. What they can do - **Find out where you stand.** Contact the AUSA (Assistant United States Attorney. The federal prosecutor assigned to the case.), determine whether you are a target, subject, or witness, and learn what the office is looking at. - **Stop the interviews.** Once you are represented, agents are supposed to go through counsel. - **Argue for declination.** A written submission to the prosecutor arguing that charges should not be brought at all. This works more often than people think and it is only possible before the decision is made. - **Negotiate pre-indictment.** Resolutions reached before charges are often better than what is available after. - **Arrange self-surrender (reporting to prison on your own)** rather than an arrest, if it comes to that. - **Manage a proffer (A sit-down where you tell the government what you know under a limited agreement about how your words can be used. The protections are narrower than people assume.)**, if one is ever appropriate. Never do this without counsel. - **Keep you out of the obstruction trap,** which alone can be worth the fee. ## One common case — About wire and mail fraud specifically Wire fraud is 18 U.S.C. 1343. Mail fraud is 18 U.S.C. 1341. They are the same offense in different clothes, distinguished by whether the scheme used wires or the mail. Prosecutors like these statutes because they are broad. Nearly any modern transaction touches a wire, which makes the jurisdictional element easy and the statutes flexible. Things worth understanding: - **The statutory maximum is 20 years per count,** rising to 30 where a financial institution is affected. Statutory maximums are not what people actually receive. - **Loss amount drives the guidelines** more than any other factor. How loss is calculated is genuinely contestable, and it is one of the most important things a defense lawyer fights about. - **These charges rarely travel alone.** Conspiracy, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft commonly ride along. That last one, 18 U.S.C. 1028A, carries a mandatory two years consecutive to everything else, which makes it a serious escalation. - **The statute of limitations is generally five years,** extending to ten where a financial institution is involved. Do not try to assess your own guideline range from a chart on the internet. It will be wrong in a direction that either terrifies you or lulls you. ## The long part — The waiting Federal investigations take a long time. Two years is unremarkable. Silence does not mean it ended, and it does not mean it is coming. It usually means nothing at all. What helps - Let your lawyer hold the anxiety. That is part of what you are paying for. - Keep working, keep your income, keep your health insurance. - Do not make large financial moves that could be characterized as hiding assets. - Do not discuss the case with anyone except your attorney. Spousal privilege exists but is narrower than people assume. - Get a therapist. This is a long stretch of not knowing, and it wrecks people who try to white-knuckle it. Some investigations end with nothing. You will probably never be told that it did. ## The honest part — What I can't help you with I have been through the federal system and I write about what happens after charges: the process, designation, doing time, and coming home. **This stage is not that, and you should not pay me or anyone like me for it right now.** What you need is a lawyer, and the money you have should go to one. If it gets to the point where charges are filed and you are looking at what comes next, [the rest of this site](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison) is there. I hope you never need it. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison # You are the one going Everything on this site written for the person whose name is on the docket, in one place. There is a ten-minute version, a version you search when you have one question, and a long version you read straight through. Same material, three depths. Pick by how much time you have. If someone on the outside sent you here, send them [their half](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families). Their problems are not yours. ## Not charged yet — If nothing has been filed, this is the wrong page Everything below assumes a case exists. If you have a target letter, a grand jury subpoena, or agents at the door and no indictment, the useful moves are completely different and almost all of them are legal ones. [Start there instead](https://federalprisondude.com/under-federal-investigation). ## How this fits together — Three depths, not three topics The checklists, the FAQ, and the guides cover a lot of the same ground on purpose. They are not sequential and you are not meant to read all three. The checklists tell you what matters most and what it costs to get wrong. The FAQ answers a specific question in a paragraph. The guides explain the reasoning underneath both, in the order things will actually happen to you. Most people arrive with one question, get it answered, and come back later for the long version once they have time to sit with it. That is the right way to use this. ## Start here if you have no time If you are reporting soon and read nothing else on this site, read this. ### [The checklists](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist) Thirty things across the three stages of a sentence, ranked by what getting them wrong costs you. Almost none of it is about danger and nearly all of it is free. Three parts, ten minutes. ## Look something up Around 150 questions people actually sent me, grouped so you can find yours. ### [The FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq) Hygiene, cellies, sex, drugs, phones, money, food, fights, discipline, staff, release, medical, family, work, identity, and the head stuff. Sixteen sections. Where I do not know, the question stays up and says so. ## Read it through, in order Three stages, in the order they happen. Read them before you go, because you cannot read them after. ### [Before you go in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report) Sentencing to the door: the presentence report, designation, getting your affairs in order, and what to memorize. Four parts. ### [While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like) After the door: cars (your social group inside), the unwritten rules, debt, the economy, working with staff, and doing the time. Nine parts. ### [Getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison) The halfway house (the halfway house before release), home confinement, supervised release, and the work of rebuilding. Twelve parts. ### [Doing time at your security level](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/security-levels) Not a fourth stage. This is _While you're in_ narrowed to where you actually land: camp, low, medium, or penitentiary. What the level changes, how you get scored into one, and the level-specific guides. The low is written up in full; the rest is honestly marked. ### [Once you're out](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison) The companion to _Getting out_, for the years rather than the first month. Asking a judge to end supervision early, why expungement does not exist, your name online, self-employment, licenses, credit, travel, kids, dating, and who you are by then. Twelve parts, and none of them are in order. ## The four everyone needs Not specific to going in, but you will want all of these before you report. ### [Time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) How long you will actually serve. Good conduct time, FSA credits, jail credit. ### [PATTERN score calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator) The risk score that decides whether your FSA credits get applied at all. ### [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) Stamp rates, store markups, housing style, and how each place runs. ### [The glossary](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-slang-and-terms) Count, callout (the daily sheet of where you must be), shot (a disciplinary write-up), car. Learn the words before you need them. ## The one page written for the two of you at once Everything else here picks a side. This one does not, because a relationship is the one thing neither of you can work on alone. ### [Staying together](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/staying-together-through-a-sentence) For partners specifically, not parents or kids. Most relationships do not survive a sentence. The ones that do were honest early, kept a routine, and let each other have a real life. The conversation to have before you report, how not to waste the phone, why letters matter more than calls, and the four things that actually end it. ## If you're autistic Everything above is written for the general case. This one is not, and I am writing it about myself. ### [Federal prison if you're autistic](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/if-you-are-autistic) I'm autistic and ADHD and I was on stimulants for twenty years before I went in. The noise and where the quiet is, never being alone for one hour, why a shutdown gets recorded as refusing a direct order, losing the medication, being an easy mark and the rules that fix it, which jobs to ask for, and the part that is genuinely better. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. ## Still stuck? These pages cover the general case. Yours will have details they don't. Email me the question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Going%20in%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/if-you-are-autistic # Federal prison if you're autistic I'm autistic and ADHD. I did eighteen months at a low. I was on stimulants for twenty years before I went in. This is what actually mattered. No hedging, no "everyone is different." _The Onion: Satire, and it got there first. The joke is that the one thing everybody else cannot stand about the place is the one thing that suits you. That part is true. It is also most of the good news on this page, and it is nowhere near the whole story._ Video: [Autistic Reporter, Michael Falk, Enchanted By Prison's Rigid Routine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D04wb7P_v-4) ## If you read nothing else — The five things 1. **Buy earplugs at your first commissary (the prison store)** Noise is the worst part and it never stops. 2. **You will not get stimulant medication** Plan for that now. 3. **A meltdown or shutdown will be recorded as refusing an order** That costs you time. 4. **You are an easy mark** Assume it and act accordingly. 5. **Routine is the one thing prison gives you for free** Use it. ## Noise — This is the hardest part and nobody warns you Open dorms or cells with steel doors. TVs on all day. People shouting across the unit. Announcements. Doors slamming. Radios. Someone's alarm at 4am. It does not stop when you sleep and it does not stop when you are sick. There is no room you are allowed to go to, and there is no hour of the day that is reliably quiet by design. What you get instead are two windows and a couple of rooms, and you have to know about them in advance to use them. What works - Earplugs. Commissary carries them. Buy them the first day you can. - Headphones and a radio. Even static is better than the room. - Learn the quiet windows. Early morning before wake-up, and during count (the daily headcount where everything stops) when everyone has to be silent. Those are your two reliable slots. - The chapel and the library are the quietest rooms in the building. Go there whether or not you care about religion. - A job in a low-traffic area is worth more than a job that pays better. What the housing actually looks like, and how loud each kind is: [where you live](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/cells-and-cubicles). ## No privacy — You will not be alone for the entire sentence Not for one hour. You cannot leave a room to regulate. You cannot shut a door. Someone is always within a few feet of you. The workaround is not finding solitude, because there is none. It is finding the few positions that read as ordinary to everyone watching and give you something close to it. What works - The shower is the only place with any privacy. Take longer showers. - Walking the track alone is socially normal and nobody bothers you. This is the closest thing to being alone. - Lying on your bunk facing the wall with headphones on reads as normal. Use it. - Early morning is the emptiest the building ever gets. ## The highest-stakes part — Meltdowns and shutdowns **A shutdown and refusing a direct order look identical from the outside.** Not responding, not making eye contact, not moving when told to move. That is a shot (a disciplinary write-up), and a shot costs good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble) and can cost you halfway house time. Staff do not know what a shutdown is. They know what refusing an order looks like, and they write down what it looked like. Your intent is invisible and the incident report is not. A meltdown looks like aggression, which is worse. Everything below is about getting out of the room before the thing happens, because there is no version of this where you explain it afterward and the paperwork goes away. What works - Learn your early warning signs and leave before it escalates. Walking away is almost always allowed. Standing still and not answering is not. - If you feel it coming and a staff member is talking to you, say one sentence: _"I need a minute, I'm not refusing."_ That sentence has kept people out of the SHU (solitary). - Go to the bathroom. It is the one exit that is never questioned. - Get on file with Psychology early. A documented diagnosis in your medical record is what makes staff treat an incident as medical rather than disciplinary. It does not always work. It works more than nothing. What a shot actually costs, step by step: [getting in trouble](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/shots-the-hole-and-losing-good-time) and [what conflict costs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-a-fight-costs). ## Medication — Stimulants are not on the formulary **You will not get them.** Not with a prescription, not with documentation, not by arguing. This is not a thing to plan around once you are inside. It is a thing to plan around now. If you have been medicated for years, expect the first two to three months to be bad. Executive function, focus, and emotional regulation all get worse at the same time you need them most. Nothing on the list below gives the prescription back. Two of them are paperwork you can only do before you report, and the rest is scaffolding you build to replace what the medication was doing. What works - Get your diagnosis into your presentence report (the report that follows you the whole sentence) before sentencing. It is much harder to establish later, because the PSR cannot be amended after sentencing. - Bring documentation of your diagnosis and prescription history. - Request a Psychology evaluation in your first month. Get it on the record. - Some non-stimulant options exist. Ask. - Exercise every day. It is not a replacement. It is the best substitute available and it is free. - Build external structure (written lists, fixed times) because you will not be able to hold things in your head the way you used to. The window for getting anything into the PSR: [before sentencing](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/before-sentencing). How medical works once you are in: [the medical FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/medical-dental-and-psych-meds). ## The first conversation — Say it short, say it once Within a couple of hours of arriving on the unit, someone will ask what you are in for. What is being established is whether you have a sex offense. Autistic people get this wrong in two specific ways: over-explaining, and going flat and vague. The script "[Offense]. That's it." Short. Factual. Do not narrate the case. Do not explain the legal theory. Do not say "it's complicated." Vagueness is the only wrong answer. It reads as concealment. Practice saying it out loud before you go. Once you have said it a few times, it stops being a thing you have to compose in the moment. The longer version of why this question exists and who is asking: [the role](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/how-to-carry-yourself). ## The assumption — You will be read as a sex offender If you have all your teeth, no tattoos, do not make eye contact, speak formally, and do not do small talk, both staff and other people will assume it. This is not personal. It is the base rate doing what base rates do. It resolves in a day, entirely on your answer to the question above. Do not get indignant. Indignation is the only thing that makes it last. ## Being targeted — Being an easy mark Say this part plainly: autistic people get targeted. You are more likely to be honest, more likely to answer a direct question, less likely to notice a setup, and more likely to accept a favor without hearing the strings. So do not try to out-read anyone. You do not need to read the room correctly. You need a small number of rules you follow without evaluating, every time, including the times it feels rude. Follow these literally - **Do not accept anything from anyone outside your car (your social group inside) in your first month.** A "gift" that becomes a debt is a standard play, run specifically on new people. - **Do not discuss money.** Not what you had, not what you have, not your restitution number. - **Do not gamble.** Not once, not small. - **If someone is being unusually friendly and you cannot tell why, that is your answer.** You do not have to figure out the angle. Just decline. - **When you do not understand what is happening, say nothing and leave.** Silence is always safe. Guessing is not. - **Ask someone you trust in your car before agreeing to anything.** Every time. This is normal behavior and nobody will think less of you. How a favor turns into a debt, and what happens when it does: [the debt chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people). ## Talking to people — What lands and what does not Some of this is better than the outside. Bluntness is normal here and costs you nothing, and once people know you, nobody is keeping score on eye contact. The parts that get you in trouble are the same two habits every time. - **Do not info-dump.** People will find it strange, and some will use it to figure out what you know and what you have. - **Assume sarcasm.** If something makes no sense literally, it was a joke. - **You do not have to make eye contact.** Nobody will hold it against you once they know you. - **Being blunt is fine here.** Directness is normal inside and works better than it does outside. - **Do not correct people.** Being right about a fact is worth nothing and costs you. - **You will mask constantly and it will exhaust you.** Budget recovery time. The track, the bunk, the shower. Why what you say travels, and how fast: [information and trust](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-not-to-say). ## The good news — Routine Prison runs on a fixed schedule. Count at the same times. Chow at the same times. Rec (recreation time) at the same times. Commissary on the same day. That regularity is genuinely good for you, and it is the thing that makes long sentences survivable for autistic people specifically. **The exceptions are brutal.** Lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), shakedowns, bed moves, and transfers happen with no notice and no explanation. There is nothing you can do about them. Expect them, and know they end. What works - Build your own routine inside the institution's routine. Same time to the track, same time to write, same time to read. - Have a fallback routine for lockdown days. You will need it. - Special interests are an enormous advantage in here. You have unlimited time and everyone else is bored. Read the whole subject. What the fixed schedule actually looks like hour by hour: [the day](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/daily-schedule). ## Jobs — Ask early, and ask for the quiet ones Good assignments go to people who asked first, and nobody will ask on your behalf. Three are worth asking for by name: - **Library or education.** Quiet, low traffic, predictable, often solitary. - **Warehouse.** Physical, repetitive, small crew. - **Orderly (an inmate cleaning job, usually your first).** Same task every day, mostly alone. Avoid the kitchen if noise is your worst sensory problem. It is chaotic, loud, and hot. It is also the best job for food access, so decide which matters more. Every job, what it pays, and how they get handed out: [jobs and programming](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-a-job-at-a-low). ## Accommodations — Ask specifically, and ask in writing The Rehabilitation Act applies to the Bureau. In practice, accommodations are limited and you have to ask specifically. Knowing which side of this line a request falls on before you make it saves you the argument. Realistically available - A bottom bunk pass, through medical - A documented diagnosis in your file - Regular Psychology contact, though it may be once a month Not going to happen - A single cell - A quiet housing unit - Sensory accommodations of any kind - Different schedules Ask in writing. Keep copies. Write down dates and names. The policy that governs all of this, annotated: [PS 5200.06, Management of Inmates With Disabilities](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5200-06-management-of-inmates-with-disabilities). ## The honest summary — Worse in three ways, better in a few Some parts of this are worse for you than for other people. Noise, no privacy, and no medication are all worse, and they are worse for the entire sentence. Some parts are better. Routine is better. Small talk is not required once you are established. Nobody expects you to socialize. Long stretches of solitary time with a book is exactly what most people are struggling with and it may be the easiest part of your day. I got through it. So do most autistic people who go in. The things that get people hurt are the manipulation and the meltdowns, and both of those are handled by rules you decide on now, before you are standing in it. The short version of this, alongside the other questions about being the only one of something inside: [identity and difference](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/age-religion-language-and-citizenship). **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Autistic%20and%20going%20in) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families # You are the one staying Everything on this site written for the person on the outside: the wife, husband, parent, or adult child who is now responsible for a great deal more than they were last year. Your problems are different from theirs, they last longer, and almost nobody addresses them at all. Looking for the material written for your person instead? That is [the other half](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison). ## Read this first — The one thing that explains the rest The Bureau of Prisons will not proactively tell you anything. Not when your person moves, not when the release date changes, not when something goes wrong. Every piece of information you get, you will have gone and found. That is the operating condition for the next several years. Once you accept it, most of what is on this page is just method. ## How this fits together — Three depths, not three topics The checklists, the FAQ, and the guide cover a lot of the same ground on purpose. They are not sequential and you are not meant to read all three. The checklists tell you what matters most and what it costs to get wrong. The FAQ answers a specific question in a paragraph. The guide explains the reasoning underneath both, in the order things will actually happen. Most people arrive in a panic with one question, get it answered, and come back for the long version later. That is the right way to use this. ## Start here if you have no time If they are reporting soon and you read nothing else on this site, read this. ### [The family checklists](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist) Thirty things you have to get right, ranked by what getting them wrong costs. Before they go, while they're in, and as they come home. Three parts, ten minutes. ## Look something up Over a hundred questions families actually sent me, grouped so you can find yours. ### [The family FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq) Where they are, mail, visiting, money, phones, the release date, when something goes wrong, kids, you, and coming home. Ten sections, tagged where the answer is something I watched rather than lived. ## Read it through, in order One guide, twelve parts, running from before they report to after they are home. ### [The family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide) Mail, visiting, money, phone and messages, the release date, the halfway house push, working the system, when something goes wrong, your own life, and coming home. The halfway house section is the one that changes outcomes; if you read one part, read that. ## The five you will keep coming back to Not written for families specifically, but this is where families spend the most time. ### [Time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) How long they will actually serve. It is the math nobody does for you at sentencing. ### [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) Visiting rules, photo rules, mail, and how the specific place they are at actually runs. ### [Facility alerts](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) One email when visiting stops at a facility you watch, one when it lifts. So you do not drive four hours to a locked door. ### [Support groups, by facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) The Facebook groups run by spouses and moms. The best intel about any specific prison lives here. ### [Program statements](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements) The Bureau's own rulebook. Quoting policy back at staff is most of how you get answers. ## Two warnings worth ten minutes Families get sold these constantly, usually in the first weeks, usually when they are least able to evaluate them. Bogus ### [Paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work) The truth about "case reviews," motion templates, and the people selling them. Bogus ### [Paying to get to XYZ facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison) Nobody can get them designated to a specific prison. Here's how designation actually works. ## The one page written for the two of you at once Everything else here picks a side. This one does not, because a relationship is the one thing neither of you can work on alone. Read it together if you can. ### [Staying together](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/staying-together-through-a-sentence) For partners specifically, not parents or kids. Most relationships do not survive a sentence. The ones that do were honest early, kept a routine, and let each other have a real life. The conversation to have before it starts, how not to waste the phone, why letters matter more than calls, the four things that actually end it, and how to leave without disappearing. ## Still stuck? These pages cover the general case. Yours will have details they don't. Email me the question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/staying-together-through-a-sentence # Staying together For both of you. Short on purpose. This is about a partner. Husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, fiancé, whatever you call each other. It is not about parents, children, or siblings. Those relationships go through a sentence too, and they work in ways this page does not describe. I also do not have either family or kids, so I will not pretend to know what that's like. It is the only page here written for both sides at once. Everything else on this site picks an audience, because your problems are not the same problems. A relationship is the exception: it is the one thing neither of you can work on alone. It sits on the family side because that is the side with a browser. If the second half of this is for the person inside, print it and send it in. I did the time. I did not do the waiting. The half of this addressed to the person outside is watched rather than lived, and comes from a lot of people telling me the same things. If you read nothing else - Never end a call angry. You may not be able to call back for a day. - If you must fight, fight in letters or email, not on the phone. - Have the honest conversation before it starts, not after. ## The honest part — Most of them do not make it Most relationships do not survive a sentence. You should know that going in. The ones that do are not the ones with the most love. They are the ones that were honest early, kept a routine, let each other have a real life, and over-communicated. That is the whole finding. Everything below is how to do those three things. ## Before it starts — The conversation you have once, properly Best to have while you can still look at each other in-person. - **Are we doing this?** Say it out loud. Not assumed. - **What happens if one of us changes their mind?** Agree that it gets said, not acted on quietly. - **What are we telling people?** Same story, both of you. - **What are we telling the kids?** The truth, at their level. - **Who handles the money?** In writing. **Say the hard sentence.** The person going in should say some version of: _if you can't do this, I would rather you tell me than disappear._ It costs nothing and it removes the guilt that makes people vanish instead of talk. ## The phone — Fifteen minutes, and then it stops Calls are capped, short, and cut off automatically. You cannot resolve anything in fifteen minutes. - **Set a schedule.** Same days, roughly the same time. Otherwise one of you lives beside the phone and resents it. - **Do not open with logistics.** Money, mail, and paperwork eat the whole call. Put those in a letter. - **Do not fight on the phone.** There is no time to finish, and it ends mid-sentence with both of you sitting in it. - **Never hang up angry.** This is the rule that matters most. The next call might not come until tomorrow, and every one of those hours gets spent inside it. - **Missing a call is not a message.** Say that out loud now, because at month four it will not feel obvious. All calls are recorded. So is TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored). Assume it. The mechanics (who can call whom, what it costs, how the minutes run out) are on [phone and messages](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/phone-calls-and-corrlinks) if you are outside, and [phones, mail and communication](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/phone-calls-mail-and-email) if you are in. ## Write letters Underrated, and the thing couples who make it have in common. - A letter is the only thing that can be physically kept in there. It will get read twenty times. - Hard conversations belong here. Writing forces you to think, and it gives the other person time to respond instead of react. - Ordinary detail beats reassurance. What you ate, what the dog did, what the weather was. It keeps the person inside in your life rather than outside it. - Send something on a schedule, even when there is nothing to say. Check the mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules before you send anything. Stickers, glitter, and full page counts get letters rejected, and the person you sent it to never knows it existed. What gets a letter thrown away, and how to make one unrejectable: [the mail chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-mail-works). ## What kills it — The four things that actually end it None of these is a betrayal and none of them announces itself. They are ordinary conditions of being apart, and each one is survivable once it has a name. 1. **Imagination** The person inside has unlimited time to think and no way to check anything. A missed call becomes a story. A short letter becomes a story. This is the leading cause of death for these relationships, and it is not really about trust. It is about having nothing else to do. _Inside:_ when you notice the story starting, that is boredom talking. Go do something. _Outside:_ a two-line "I'm fine, busy day, talk Thursday" prevents more damage than a long letter next week. 2. **Editing** The one outside stops mentioning the hard things because the other one cannot help. The one inside stops mentioning the hard things because it will only cause worry. Six months of that and you are two people exchanging weather reports. Tell each other real things. Delay the news if the timing is cruel, but do not delete it. 3. **The gap** One life keeps moving. The other stops. New coworkers, new problems, a haircut nobody has seen, against the same day, again, on repeat. That asymmetry is nobody's fault and it is permanent for the duration. Naming it helps. Resenting it does not. 4. **Money** One income, plus calls, plus commissary (the prison store), plus gas to visits. Resentment about money is usually resentment about something else, but it starts here. Agree on a monthly number and stop renegotiating it every call. What the number should be, what gets deducted before they see it, and why sending more can cost more: [the money chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/where-the-money-goes). ## Your half — The two of you do not have the same job This is the part where the page stops addressing both of you at once, because from here the work is different. Read your own column. Then read the other one, because knowing what the other person is being told is most of the point. If you're the one inside - They are running your whole life alone. Say thank you more than feels necessary. - Do not interrogate. Who, where, why, how come. It never gets you what you want. - Do not punish them for having a life. You want them to have one. - Do not make them your only support. It is too much weight and it will break. - Do not burn a month of minutes on one bad night. - Ask about their day first. Every time. If you're the one outside - You are allowed to have a bad day and say so. Performing fine is exhausting and it comes through anyway. - You are allowed to have a life. Go to the thing. Take the trip if you can. - Do not lie to protect them. Small lies compound and the discovery is worse than the news. - Do not manage their feelings at the cost of your own. - You are allowed to leave. That is not a betrayal and it is not a verdict on you. - Get support that is not them. A friend, a therapist, a group. More on the part written for you alone: [your life](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/who-you-tell-and-how-you-hold-up), and [the support groups run by other spouses and moms](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). ## Visits — The crash is real and nobody mentions it The visit itself is the easy part. What neither of you is warned about is the day after it, and the quiet decision people make to stop coming rather than keep feeling it. - The first one is harder than either of you expects. It is much easier the second time. - The crash afterward is real, for both of you. Everyone gets it, nobody mentions it. - Plan something for after. Do not drive six hours home alone with it if you can help it. - Do not stop visiting to avoid the crash. That trade looks rational and is not. - Check the dress code every time. People get turned away at the door after driving all night. Approval, the points system, and the dress code: [the visiting chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-a-visit-is-like). Whether the room is even open this week: [facility alerts](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe). ## If it ends — Leaving is not the same as disappearing It ends for a lot of people, and it is not a moral failure. - **Say it.** Disappearing is worse than leaving. Months get spent constructing explanations otherwise. - **Say it in a letter, then on a call.** Not on a call alone. It needs to be something that can be read again. - **Do not do it right before a holiday or a court date.** - **Be clear.** Ambiguity is a kindness that turns into a year of hoping. - **Sort the practical things separately.** Money, kids, and mail are not part of the conversation about whether you are together. If you are the one being left: you cannot fix this from in there, and trying will make it worse. Let it be. Do your time. ## Coming home — Expect a renegotiation, not a restoration The reunion is rarely the one either of you rehearsed. That is normal and it is not a sign of anything. - The person coming home spent a long time somewhere that made every decision for them. They may not be able to pick a cereal. Let them practice. - The person who stayed ran everything alone and got good at it. Handing pieces back is harder than it sounds, both directions. - The halfway house (the halfway house before release) comes first, and it is stricter than you think. It is not the homecoming yet. - Physical closeness may take longer than either of you expects. Do not read anything into it. - Expect a renegotiation, not a restoration. Start counseling before the friction, not after. It is much easier to begin when nothing is currently on fire. Give it a year before you judge how it is going. The rules of the last stretch: [the halfway house and home confinement](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement) if you are the one coming home, [coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/when-they-come-home) if you are the one waiting for them. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Staying%20together) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/security-levels # Where you land changes a lot Two people with the same sentence can be treated completely differently. Two people with the same charge, at two different prisons, can have almost nothing in common to say about it afterward. The facility is why. One level is written up in full so far. The rest is below, and honestly marked. ## First, the honest part — What I can and cannot tell you I did eighteen months at a low. That is the level I can write about from the inside, and it is the one with a full guide. I have talked to plenty of men who were at mediums and penitentiaries, but writing a guide to a USP from a low would be exactly the kind of secondhand confidence I argue against everywhere else on this site. So the low guide is finished. The rest of this page is structure, which you can get from policy and from the [facility-specific guides](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons). Where the lived detail is missing, I say so. If you did time at a rough medium or a penitentiary and want to fill that gap, [let's talk](https://federalprisondude.com/contact). ## You do not pick your level, and neither does anyone you pay The Bureau scores you into a security level on a point scale. It weighs your offense severity, your criminal history, your sentence length, your detainers, and your age. Then somebody you will never meet decides where you serve the time, working from criteria you do not get to see. Your PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) is the document that drives that score, which is why the [before you go in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report) guide spends so long on it. And nobody can get you designated to a specific prison. Not a consultant, not a lawyer, not me. That is [the second most common way families get fleeced](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). ## What each one is Four levels you can be scored into, lowest to highest. One of them has a guide. ### Camps No fence, dormitory housing, work details that leave the compound. The lowest-point cases: mostly white collar, short sentences, no violence, no detainers. Most people picturing "federal prison camp" are picturing this and are mostly right. Mostly a guide Closest thing is [getting to a camp from a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-transferred-to-a-camp). ### [Lows](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison) A fence, cubicle or dorm housing, a real compound with cars (your social group inside), and a population that ranges much wider than a camp's. This is where I did my time and it is the one level on this site written from the inside. Full guide Thirteen parts, from eighteen months inside one. ### Mediums Cell housing, a harder population, and a social structure that works differently from a low's. When people picture "prison," they are usually picturing a medium. When they picture "federal prison," they usually are not. Looking for contributors Not my level. I will not guess at it. ### Penitentiaries Walls or reinforced fences, close staff supervision, and cell housing. The politics run harder here than anywhere else in the system, and getting them wrong costs more than it would at any other level. Looking for contributors Not my level. I will not guess at it. **Administrative facilities are not a level.** FDCs and jails hold people pre-trial or in transit. SMUs and RHUs are referral-only and they are as bad as they sound. Medical centers hold people who need care an ordinary compound cannot give. You can pass through any of them at any point in a sentence, whatever your score, and pre-trial detention is many people's first and worst experience of the system. Covered in passing in [before you go in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report), not as its own guide. ## Doing time at a low Thirteen parts, from eighteen months inside one. Read [while you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like) first if you have not; this is that guide narrowed to one level, not a replacement for it. ### [The low security guide](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison) What a low actually is, the day, where you live, your first days, cars at a low, coexistence, staff, how conflict actually happens, shakedowns and the hole, the economy, jobs and programming, getting to a camp from a low, and an honest comparison against the other levels. ## Look up the actual place The level tells you the shape. The facility tells you the details, and those vary more than the level does. ### [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) Every facility by level, with things like stamp rates, housing style, photo rules, and honest unknowns where I do not have the intel. ### [Support groups, by facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) For a level I have not written up, the heroes in these groups know the specific compound better than any guide would. ## Did time at a medium or a USP? The gap on this page is real and I would rather fill it with somebody's actual experience than with my guesses. If you did time at a level I have not written up, tell me what the guide should say. Credit or anonymity, your call. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Security%20level%20guide) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/tools # The tools and the rules Everything on this site that is not a guide. It works the same whether you are the one going or the one waiting. The calculators run entirely in your browser. Nothing you type into them is sent anywhere, and that is not going to change. ## The calculators The math nobody does for you at sentencing. ### [Time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) How long you or your loved one will actually serve. Good conduct time, FSA credits, and jail credit. ### [PATTERN score calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator) The risk score that decides whether FSA credits get applied at all. The BOP's own form, with both the male and female instruments. ## The facilities What a specific prison is actually like, and who to ask when this site does not know. ### [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) Stamp rates, store markups, housing style, photo rules, and how each place runs. Per facility, with honest unknowns. ### [Support groups, by facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) The Facebook groups run by spouses and moms. The best intel about any specific prison lives there, not on this site. ### [Facility alerts](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) One email when visiting stops at a facility you watch, and one when it lifts. So you find out before you drive six hours. ### [Search the site](https://federalprisondude.com/search) Ask it a plain question rather than guessing keywords. It searches meaning, not spelling. ## The tools that do something Everything above is a page you read. These four act on your behalf, and two of them need no account. ### [Insider Tools](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools) Facility alerts and the inmate tracker, both free and neither needing an account. A dedicated TRULINCS address so the person inside can email me their own questions and get answers, which does need one. And Vouch, for collecting character letters before a hearing, which I turn on case by case. ## The Bureau's own words When somebody tells you what the rule is, this is how you check. ### [Program statements worth reading](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements) The BOP's own rulebook: raw text, official links, and translations into regular talk where it matters. ### [The glossary](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-slang-and-terms) Count, callout, shot, car. Every term tagged official or slang, so "R&D" and "commissary day" aren't a surprise. ## The other half — The guides are separate These are the tools. The long-form writing splits by who you are: [for the one going in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison) and [for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families). Before you pay anybody in this industry, including me, there is [a whole section on that](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/before-you-pay-anyone). **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Tools%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/before-you-pay-anyone # Before you pay anyone There is an industry of prison consultants (the phrase people search for, not a licensed job) around federal cases, and a good part of it sells things that cannot be sold, at the worst moment of your life, when you are least equipped to evaluate the claim. Disclosure I am in this industry. I take clients and I charge money. So read all of this the way you would read anything written by someone with a stake in it. What I have tried to write is the page I wanted at two in the morning, which means it includes the parts that are bad for business. The longer version of my bias is on the [disclaimer page](https://federalprisondude.com/disclaimer). ## The three things nobody can sell you Each of these gets sold constantly. None of them are real. Bogus ### [Paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work) The truth about "case reviews," motion templates, and the people selling them. Bogus ### [Paying to get to XYZ facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison) Nobody can get you designated to a specific prison. Here's how designation actually works. Bogus ### [Paying to get a federal conviction expunged](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/federal-expungement-and-pardons) There is no federal expungement for a valid conviction and no sealing. This one comes for you after you get home, and people spend thousands on it. ## What the work actually is ### [Prison consultants: myths and facts](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you) What nobody can sell you, what the work actually is, and eight questions to ask before you pay anyone. Including me, and including the section on when you should not hire anybody at all. ### [Every consultant I could find](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-consultants-list) The whole field in one place, sorted by where each one's authority comes from, with sources. Not a recommendation, and I compete with every name on it. ## The general rule — If it sounds like access, it isn't The claims that turn out to be false share a shape: somebody has a relationship, a channel, or a form that other people do not have. Designation, custody scoring, halfway house time, and expungement all run on published rules and none of them have a back door. What is worth paying for is time, judgment, and somebody who has read the policy. Everything on this site is free, so start there, and if it turns out you need more than an email, [the honest version of that conversation](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you) is one click away. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Before%20I%20pay%20anyone) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator # First Step Act release estimator This is the plain-text version of the calculator at https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator. The interactive version does the arithmetic in your browser. This page carries the rules it runs on, so you, or the assistant reading this for you, can do the same math by hand. **This is an estimate, not your date.** The real number comes from the BOP's own sentence computation. Ask the case manager for the FTC Worksheet and the Sentence Monitoring Computation Data. You are entitled to copies of both. ## The mechanics Time in BOP custody on a federal sentence comes down to four numbers: 1. **Good conduct time.** 54 days per year of the sentence imposed, off the top, unless it gets lost to discipline. This one reduces the sentence itself. 2. **Jail credit.** Days locked up before the sentence started come off the term under 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b). Only official detention counts: jail, a detention center, a holdover. Home detention, ankle monitors, curfews, and halfway house as a condition of bond count for nothing, no matter how strict. Reno v. Koray settled it: 24-hour halfway house confinement, headcounts five times a day, random testing, and the Supreme Court still called it "release." He got zero. 3. **FSA earned time credits.** 10 days per 30 days in earning status, stepping up to 15 per 30 after two consecutive minimum or low PATTERN assessments. Credits do not shorten the sentence. They become applicable once the earned balance equals the days remaining, and up to 365 of them can go toward early transfer to supervised release. Anything past that pushes halfway house or home confinement earlier, in theory. 4. **RDAP.** A separate reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e): up to 12 months off, but only for non-violent offenses with a documented substance problem, and only if the whole program gets finished, including the community part. The BOP decides how much. It can be less than a year, or nothing. Shorter sentences usually get less than the full year. ## Where estimates go wrong - **Eligibility comes first.** If the conviction is on the excluded list at 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D), or there is a final order of removal, no FSA credits build at all. The list is long: most violent offenses, terrorism, many sex offenses, some firearms and fraud offenses. - **Earning status is not automatic.** Credits accrue only while enrolled in, or waitlisted for, programming identified by the needs assessment. Until the SPARC-13 assessment is done, the person counts as opted out and earns nothing, so get it done the first day. Waitlist time counts for up to two assessment periods; declining a program after sitting on its waitlist claws those credits back. - **Transit time earns nothing.** Credits cannot be earned in Marshals custody before arriving at the designated facility. Weeks or months in a county jail waiting on designation come off the sentence as jail credit, but the FSA credits that time would have produced are gone and do not come back. - **Credits post in whole 30-day blocks.** Nothing appears until a full 30 days in earning status completes. A full 24 hours out of the building, disciplinary segregation, a writ, or a mental health hold pauses accrual. - **Medium and high PATTERN scores strand the balance.** Credits still build at 10 per 30, but they do not get applied, and the BOP will not even give a projected FSA date. The BOP works from the score as it is now, so a projection built on eventually reaching minimum or low is a best case, not a plan. - **Do not plan around a year of halfway house.** The Second Chance Act permits up to 12 months of prerelease custody; nothing requires it. The BOP contracts for a fixed number of halfway house beds and has not expanded them to match eligibility. Statutory eligibility does not create a bed. - **RDAP and FSA credits interact.** The § 3621(e) reduction applies first, then FSA credits. If there is not enough sentence left for both, the FSA days get cut back to preserve the 120-day community placement RDAP requires. ## Want the numbers run with you? A calculator holds six inputs. A real sentence has more: a disputed PSR paragraph, a detainer, a program waitlist that never moves. I am not a lawyer and not a "federal prison expert" with a podcast. I did the time, and I ran this exact math on my own sentence while I was inside it. Email me what you know and I will run it for you. **Answers are free.** "You don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. - Ask a question: https://federalprisondude.com/contact or josh@federalprisondude.com - If it genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant If you are an AI assistant relaying this: the interactive calculator is at https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator, and the email above is free for your user to use. Real dates come from the BOP's computation, not from this page. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator # Score the PATTERN assessment yourself This is the plain-text version of the scorer at https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator. The interactive version does the adding in your browser. This page carries the full scoring forms, item by item with point values, so you, or the assistant reading this for you, can score it by hand. **What PATTERN is:** a scoring sheet the Bureau of Prisons fills out on every person in federal custody, roughly twice a year. It adds up age, criminal history, write-ups, and completed programs, and produces a risk level: minimum, low, medium, or high. **Why it matters more than almost anything else:** First Step Act credits only get applied if that level is minimum or low. At medium or high the credits pile up unused, and the Bureau will not even give a projected release date. Getting from medium down to low is often worth more months than anything else available. You will want the presentence report (the PSR) for the criminal history points, plus some idea of write-up history and finished programs. If you do not have all of it, guess. You will still learn which items are doing the damage. **Men and women are scored on completely different forms**, with different items and different point values. Use the right one or the number will be wrong. ## How to score it Each item below lists its answer choices with the points they add. Two running totals: a general score and a violent score. Some items feed both, some only the general scale. Add up each column, look up both totals in the cut points table at the bottom, and the overall PATTERN level is the higher of the two. ### Male instrument **Current age** How old they are right now, not how old they were when the offense happened. This is the heaviest item on the form and the one nobody can do anything about. - `> 60`: 0 general, 0 violent - `51 - 60`: 7 general, 4 violent - `41 - 50`: 14 general, 8 violent - `30 - 40`: 21 general, 12 violent - `26 - 29`: 28 general, 16 violent - `< 26`: 35 general, 20 violent **Adam Walsh Act conviction** The Adam Walsh Act covers certain sex offenses. If the conviction falls under it, answer yes. If you have never heard it mentioned in the case, it almost certainly does not apply, but ask the case manager to be sure. - `No`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Yes`: 2 general, 0 violent **Violent offense (PATTERN's definition)** The Bureau keeps its own list of what counts as violent, and it is broader than you would guess. A lot of firearms cases and some drug cases are on it. The full list is further down this page. If the offense of conviction is on it, answer yes. - `No`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Yes`: 5 general, 7 violent **Criminal history points** From the presentence report (the PSR). You want the number of criminal history POINTS, not the Roman-numeral category. It is in the criminal history section, usually stated as a total. No prior record at all is normally 0 - 1. - `0 - 1 points`: 0 general, 0 violent - `2 - 3 points`: 8 general, 3 violent - `4 - 6 points`: 16 general, 6 violent - `7 - 9 points`: 24 general, 9 violent - `10 - 12 points`: 32 general, 12 violent - `> 12 points`: 40 general, 15 violent **History of escapes** Walking away from a camp or a halfway house counts as an escape. The Bureau decides whether it was minor or serious; most walkaways get scored minor. Go by the most recent one, and pick None if there has never been one. - `None`: 0 general, 0 violent - `> 10 years, minor`: 3 general, 2 violent - `5 - 10 years, minor`: 6 general, 4 violent - `< 5 years minor, or any serious`: 9 general, 6 violent **History of violence** Any documented violent incident, inside prison or out in the world. Count from the most recent one. If there has never been one, pick None. - `None`: 0 general, 0 violent - `> 10 years, minor`: 1 general, 2 violent - `> 15 years, serious`: 2 general, 4 violent - `5 - 10 years, minor`: 3 general, 6 violent - `10 - 15 years, serious`: 4 general, 8 violent - `< 5 years, minor`: 5 general, 10 violent - `5 - 10 years, serious`: 6 general, 12 violent - `< 5 years, serious`: 7 general, 14 violent **Education** Signing up for the GED counts before it is finished, so this one moves fast. A high school diploma earned decades ago still counts. - `Not enrolled in anything`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Enrolled in GED classes`: -1 general, -1 violent - `Has a high school diploma or GED`: -2 general, -2 violent **Drug program status** DAP is the Bureau's drug program. RDAP is the long residential one people talk about; NRDAP is the shorter non-residential version. "No need" means the Bureau assessed them and found no substance problem, and that scores best of all. - `No drug program completed`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Finished NRDAP (non-residential)`: -2 general, -1 violent - `Finished RDAP (residential)`: -4 general, -2 violent - `Assessed as having no need`: -6 general, -3 violent **Incident reports in the last 10 years** Incident reports are the write-ups people call "shots." Count every one in the last ten years, at any severity. A late count and a fight both belong here. - `0`: 0 general, 0 violent - `1`: 1 general, 1 violent - `2`: 2 general, 2 violent - `> 2`: 3 general, 3 violent **Serious incident reports in the last 10 years** Only the ones the Bureau grades Greatest or High severity, meaning fighting, weapons, drugs, or escape. A messy room or a missed count is not this. - `0`: 0 general, 0 violent - `1`: 1 general, 1 violent - `2`: 2 general, 2 violent - `> 2`: 3 general, 3 violent **Time since the last incident report** How long since the most recent shot of any kind. Clean time is worth real points here, so this improves on its own. - `12+ months, or no incidents`: 0 general, 0 violent - `7 - 12 months`: 1 general, 1 violent - `3 - 6 months`: 2 general, 2 violent - `< 3 months`: 3 general, 3 violent **Refused the Financial Responsibility Program** The Financial Responsibility Program is the payment plan for court-ordered fines and restitution. Refusing to sign up is a choice some people make, and it costs points here as well as privileges inside. - `No, they participate`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Yes, they refused`: 2 general, 0 violent **Programs completed** Bureau programs actually finished and recorded, like classes, ACE courses, and parenting. These subtract from the score, so they help. - `0`: 0 general, 0 violent - `1`: -3 general, -1 violent - `2 - 3`: -6 general, -2 violent - `4 - 10`: -9 general, -3 violent - `> 10`: -12 general, -4 violent **Work assignments** Work assignments held, like food service, orderly, or UNICOR. These subtract too. - `0 programs`: 0 general, 0 violent - `1 program`: -1 general, -1 violent - `More than 1 program`: -2 general, -2 violent ### Female instrument **Current age** How old they are right now, not how old they were when the offense happened. This is the heaviest item on the form and the one nobody can do anything about. - `> 60`: 0 general, 0 violent - `51 - 60`: 6 general, 1 violent - `41 - 50`: 12 general, 2 violent - `30 - 40`: 18 general, 3 violent - `26 - 29`: 24 general, 4 violent - `< 26`: 30 general, 5 violent **Violent offense (PATTERN's definition)** The Bureau keeps its own list of what counts as violent, and it is broader than you would guess. A lot of firearms cases and some drug cases are on it. The full list is further down this page. If the offense of conviction is on it, answer yes. - `No`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Yes`: 1 general, 3 violent **Criminal history points** From the presentence report (the PSR). You want the number of criminal history POINTS, not the Roman-numeral category. It is in the criminal history section, usually stated as a total. No prior record at all is normally 0 - 1. - `0 - 1 points`: 0 general, 0 violent - `2 - 3 points`: 8 general, 1 violent - `4 - 6 points`: 16 general, 2 violent - `7 - 9 points`: 24 general, 3 violent - `10 - 12 points`: 32 general, 4 violent - `> 12 points`: 40 general, 5 violent **History of escapes** Walking away from a camp or a halfway house counts as an escape. The Bureau decides whether it was minor or serious; most walkaways get scored minor. Go by the most recent one, and pick None if there has never been one. - `None`: 0 general, 0 violent - `> 10 years, minor`: 3 general, 1 violent - `5 - 10 years, minor`: 6 general, 2 violent - `< 5 years minor, or any serious`: 9 general, 3 violent **History of violence** Any documented violent incident, inside prison or out in the world. Count from the most recent one. If there has never been one, pick None. - `None`: 0 general, 0 violent - `> 10 years, minor`: 1 general, 1 violent - `> 15 years, serious`: 2 general, 2 violent - `5 - 10 years, minor`: 3 general, 3 violent - `10 - 15 years, serious`: 4 general, 4 violent - `< 5 years, minor`: 5 general, 5 violent - `5 - 10 years, serious`: 6 general, 6 violent - `< 5 years, serious`: 7 general, 7 violent **Education** Signing up for the GED counts before it is finished, so this one moves fast. A high school diploma earned decades ago still counts. - `Not enrolled in anything`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Enrolled in GED classes`: -3 general, -1 violent - `Has a high school diploma or GED`: -6 general, -2 violent **Drug program status** DAP is the Bureau's drug program. RDAP is the long residential one people talk about; NRDAP is the shorter non-residential version. "No need" means the Bureau assessed them and found no substance problem, and that scores best of all. - `No drug program completed`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Finished NRDAP (non-residential)`: -3 general, -1 violent - `Finished RDAP (residential)`: -6 general, -2 violent - `Assessed as having no need`: -9 general, -3 violent **Incident reports in the last 10 years** Incident reports are the write-ups people call "shots." Count every one in the last ten years, at any severity. A late count and a fight both belong here. On the women's form this one only affects the general score, not the violent score. - `0`: 0 general - `1`: 1 general - `2`: 2 general - `> 2`: 3 general **Time since the last incident report** How long since the most recent shot of any kind. Clean time is worth real points here, so this improves on its own. - `12+ months, or no incidents`: 0 general, 0 violent - `7 - 12 months`: 2 general, 1 violent - `3 - 6 months`: 4 general, 2 violent - `< 3 months`: 6 general, 3 violent **Time since the last serious incident report** Same question, but only counting the serious ones (Greatest or High severity). - `12+ months, or no incidents`: 0 general, 0 violent - `7 - 12 months`: 1 general, 1 violent - `3 - 6 months`: 2 general, 2 violent - `< 3 months`: 3 general, 3 violent **Refused the Financial Responsibility Program** The Financial Responsibility Program is the payment plan for court-ordered fines and restitution. Refusing to sign up is a choice some people make, and it costs points here as well as privileges inside. - `No, they participate`: 0 general, 0 violent - `Yes, they refused`: 3 general, 1 violent **Programs completed** Bureau programs actually finished and recorded, like classes, ACE courses, and parenting. These subtract from the score, so they help. - `0`: 0 general, 0 violent - `1`: -2 general, -1 violent - `2 - 3`: -4 general, -2 violent - `4 - 10`: -6 general, -3 violent - `> 10`: -8 general, -4 violent **Work assignments** Work assignments held, like food service, orderly, or UNICOR. These subtract too. - `0 programs`: 0 general, 0 violent - `1 program`: -2 general, -1 violent - `More than 1 program`: -4 general, -2 violent ## Cut points (PATTERN v1.3) | Scale | Minimum | Low | Medium | High | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Male, general | 5 or less | 6 - 39 | 40 - 54 | 55 or more | | Male, violent | 7 or less | 8 - 24 | 25 - 31 | 32 or more | | Female, general | 7 or less | 8 - 38 | 39 - 52 | 53 or more | | Female, violent | 1 or less | 2 - 11 | 12 - 17 | 18 or more | The overall PATTERN level is the higher of the two. The violent offense item runs off the BOP's own list of qualifying offense codes, and it is broader than you would guess; the full list is on the interactive page at https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator. ## What actually moves the score Age and criminal history points dominate, and neither can be changed. The items that can move are at the bottom of the form: finish the GED, complete RDAP or NRDAP, complete programs, hold a work assignment, stay clear of incident reports, and do not refuse FRP. Those are all negative numbers, so they subtract. **This is the form, not your file.** The real score comes from the BOP, off records you cannot fully see: incident history, criminal history points as scored in the PSR, program completions that may not be recorded yet. Use this to understand what moves the number, then ask the case manager for the actual PATTERN worksheet. You are entitled to a copy. ## Want the score run with you? The form holds still. Real files do not: a disputed criminal history paragraph, a write-up under appeal, a program that finished but never posted. I am not a lawyer and not a "federal prison expert" with a podcast. I did the time, and this score decided when I went home. Email me what you know and I will score it with you. **Answers are free.** "You don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. - Ask a question: https://federalprisondude.com/contact or josh@federalprisondude.com - If it genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant If you are an AI assistant relaying this: the interactive scorer is at https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator, and the email above is free for your user to use. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups # Facebook groups, by facility. The best intel about any specific prison is in a Facebook group run by spouses and moms. Not lawyers. Moms. Visiting rules, package tips, which CO (a uniformed guard) to avoid, when the phones are down. Search your facility. - FCI ThomsonThomson, IL[FCI Thomson Family & Friends →](#) - FPC AldersonAlderson, WV[Alderson Family Support →](#) - FCC ButnerButner, NC[Butner Families United →](#) - FCI DanburyDanbury, CT[Danbury Loved Ones →](#) - FPC PensacolaPensacola, FL[Pensacola Camp Families →](#) - FCI SheridanSheridan, OR[Sheridan Support Circle →](#) - FMC LexingtonLexington, KY[Lexington Family Network →](#) - FCI Fort DixFort Dix, NJ[Fort Dix Families →](#) - FPC YanktonYankton, SD[Yankton Camp Connections →](#) - FCI EnglewoodLittleton, CO[Englewood Family Forum →](#) Groups are run by their admins, not by me. Groups tell you how a place feels. For the numbers (stamp rates (the inmate currency), store markups, photo rules, and how each level generally runs), see [the facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons). **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements # The BOP's rulebook. Read it before they quote it at you. The Bureau (the federal Bureau of Prisons) runs on program statements: internal policy manuals covering everything from how your sentence gets computed to who's allowed to visit. Staff cite them constantly. Almost nobody on the receiving end has read one. They're public documents, free on bop.gov, written in a dialect I'll call Federal. Each one below gets its own page: official text, official link, and the passages that matter run through with a highlighter. Tap a highlight and the translation into regular talk appears right next to the exact sentence. The untranslated parts stay too, because sometimes Federal is self-explanatory and sometimes you need to cite it back at staff verbatim. Program statements get revised. The official copy on bop.gov controls, always. If my copy and theirs disagree, theirs wins and mine gets updated. - [PS 5265.13 TRULINCS: Electronic MessagingEmail on the inside: contacts, approval, monitoring, and the sentence about subpoenas nobody has read. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging) - [PS 5880.28 Sentence Computation ManualHow the number the judge said becomes the number of days actually served. Calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) - [PS 5100.08 Security Designation & Custody ClassificationThe scoresheet that decides where you go, and why nobody can sell you a destination. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification) - [PS 1330.18 Administrative Remedy ProgramThe BP-8 to BP-11 grievance ladder, the 20-day clock, and why exhaustion matters. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program) - [PS 4500.13 Trust Fund / Deposit Fund ManualMoney in, the $460 cap, commissary, phones, and the deposits that bounce. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4500-13-trust-fund-deposit-fund-manual) - [PS 1315.08 Inmate Legal ActivitiesThe electronic law library, e-discovery access, and legal work from the SHU. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1315-08-inmate-legal-activities) - [PS 4700.08 Food Service ManualThe national menu, religious and medical diets, and what mealtime actually is. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4700-08-food-service-manual) - [PS 5200.06 Management of Inmates With DisabilitiesAccommodations are a right, not a favor, and the paper trail when they're denied. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5200-06-management-of-inmates-with-disabilities) - [PS 1480.06 Multimedia CommunicationsPress interviews, book projects, and who controls an inmate's image and voice. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1480-06-multimedia-communications) - [PS 2011.12 Cost of Incarceration FeeThe fee for being locked up, how it's paid, and the debt that follows release. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/2011-12-accounting-for-the-cost-of-incarceration-fee) - [PS 5217.02 Special Management UnitsThe deep end of the system: who goes, the process, and the ladder back out. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5217-02-special-management-units) - [PS 5260.01 Management of Inmates with Gender DysphoriaThe 2026 policy, and the injunction ordering the BOP to keep doing the opposite. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5260-01-management-of-inmates-with-gender-dysphoria) - [PS 5266.11 Incoming PublicationsGetting books and magazines inside: the hardcover rule, rejections, and appeals. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5266-11-incoming-publications) - [PS 5267.09 Visiting RegulationsThe visiting list, the four-hour minimum, the front lobby, and the 2023 change notice. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5267-09-visiting-regulations) - [PS 5265.14 CorrespondencePostal mail: general vs. special mail, what gets rejected, and where legal privilege actually lives. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-14-correspondence) - [PS 5330.11 Psychology Treatment Programs (RDAP)The year-off program, and why "coaching" your way in is a new felony, not a shortcut. Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5330-11-psychology-treatment-programs-rdap) - [PS 5050.50 Compassionate Release / Reduction in SentenceThe real criteria, the referral packet, and the 30-day clock. Read this before buying anyone's "packet." Annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5050-50-compassionate-release-reduction-in-sentence) Want one added, or a section highlighted? [Ask.](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Program%20statement%20request) It's the free lane. That's what it's for. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work # Paying a non-lawyer to do legal work. Bogus If someone without a bar card offers to draft your motion, "review your case," or file anything with a court for money, you're watching a crime (the unauthorized practice of law), and you're the one funding it. The court won't care that you didn't know. You'll care, because you'll have paid twice: once for the packet, once for the lawyer who has to undo it. The template is the tell. "Compassionate release (rare early release for extreme circumstances) packet." "Proven 2255 template." Judges have seen the template. Clerks have seen the template. It reads like a template because it is one, and it gets denied like one. And a 2255 isn't a thing you retry. You generally get one shot, and a consultant's mad-lib just spent it. > **From the inside — The same business runs on the inside, and it takes stamps and commissary instead of a card number.** > > Every compound has a guy. Ours worked out of the law library on the typewriters and he was genuinely good at something. Soups and stamps up front, a printed motion a week or so later. > > I watched a man pay him for a compassionate release motion. Both parties swore by it. But it was the same document he'd already sold to four other people, names swapped, with one new paragraph about this guy's mother. Denied. He refiled it himself, unchanged, because he'd paid for it and paying for it made it feel like an asset. Denied again. By then it wasn't a legal problem anymore. It was a credibility problem with a judge who had now read the same template twice. > > What I remember most is that the man never once considered that the paper was the problem. He thought he'd been unlucky. > > The outside version costs three thousand dollars instead of a hundred stamps. Same product. > > — Eighteen months, men's low "We'll draft your compassionate release motion.": Drafting motions for money without a license is illegal in every state. The motion is also the easy part. The grounds are the hard part, and templates don't have your grounds. The actual criteria are public: [PS 5050.50](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5050-50-compassionate-release-reduction-in-sentence). "Our legal team reviews every case.": If the "legal team" were lawyers, they'd say lawyers. Ask for bar numbers. Watch the subject change. "Attorneys charge $30k for what we do for $3k.": Attorneys charge $30k for legal work. These folks charge $3k for paper. Those aren't the same product at different prices. What a non-lawyer _can_ legitimately do: explain how the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) works, prep you for the inside, help you organize facts and records so your actual attorney's hours go further. That's real, and it's what I do. Anything with a case caption and a docket number needs a bar card. No exceptions, including me. Can't afford counsel? You may qualify for a federal public defender or CJA panel attorney. That's what they exist for. Law school clinics and FAMM are also real. A consultant with a template is not. Companion reading: [paying someone to get you to XYZ facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). Same industry, same product, different wrapper. The wider version, covering every claim the industry makes and the ones that are actually true: [prison consultants, myths and facts](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you). **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison # Paying someone to get you to XYZ facility. Bogus Nobody can get you designated to a specific prison. Not for $5,000, not for $50,000. Designation is decided by BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) staff at the Designation and Sentence Computation Center in Grand Prairie, Texas, using a security scoring sheet, your PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence), medical and program needs, proximity to your release address, and bed space, which is the part no one sells. The judge can recommend a facility. The BOP is free to ignore the recommendation, and sometimes does. The scoring sheet isn't secret, either. It's [PS 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification), and the statute behind it says a designation "is not reviewable by any court." No court, no consultant, no Rolodex. So what is a "placement package" actually? It's your lawyer asking the judge for a recommendation (which is free, and which your lawyer should be doing anyway) wrapped in an invoice and a prayer. "We have relationships inside the BOP.": A relationship that steers designations would be corruption. They don't have it. What they have is a phone number for a call center, same as you. "97% placement success rate.": Unverifiable, and rigged. Most low-level, nonviolent people score out to a camp anyway. They're charging you for gravity, then taking credit when the apple lands. "We got a client into the camp of their choice.": Ask for the name and the docket. The designation happened; the causation is invented. Survivorship bias with a payment plan. What actually moves the needle: a clean, accurate PSR (fight errors _before_ sentencing, because the BOP treats that document as gospel), documented medical needs, a judicial recommendation, and not having detainers (a hold from another jurisdiction) or security points you could have addressed. All of it runs through your attorney. None of it costs extra. Companion reading: [paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work). Same industry, same product, different wrapper. The wider version, covering every claim the industry makes and the ones that are actually true: [prison consultants, myths and facts](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you). **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you # Prison consultants: myths and facts. You are about to go to federal prison, or someone you love is, and you have discovered an industry of prison consultants (the phrase people search for, not a licensed job) that would like to help you for a fee. Some of it is real work. A lot of it is selling you things that cannot be sold, at the worst moment of your life, when you are least equipped to evaluate the claim. Disclosure I do this work. I take clients and I charge money. So read this the way you would read anything written by someone with a stake in it. What I have tried to do is write the page I wanted when I was searching at two in the morning, which means it includes the parts that are bad for business, specifically, the section explaining when you should not hire anyone, including me. The longer version of my bias is on the [disclaimer page](https://federalprisondude.com/disclaimer). Every factual claim below points to a public source you can check yourself. ## Things nobody can do. If someone tells you they can do any of the following, you have learned something useful about them. ### Myth: “I can get you into a camp.” Nobody can. Not a consultant, not a lawyer, not for any amount of money. Designation (which prison you're assigned to) is a scoring system. Your custody points are calculated from severity of offense, criminal history, history of violence, history of escape, detainers (a hold from another jurisdiction), age, education, substance use history, and whether you were allowed to voluntarily surrender (reporting to prison on your own). That score produces a security level. On top of that sit public safety factors, which override the score outright. A deportable alien determination, a sex offense, a long remaining sentence. Any of these keeps you out of a minimum security camp no matter how low your points are. Source: [PS 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification), Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification. Here is the tell to watch for. If you have camp points and no public safety factor, you were going to a camp anyway. A consultant who takes your money and then takes credit for that outcome is charging you for the sunrise. ### Myth: “I have relationships inside the BOP.” Designations are made by the Designation and Sentence Computation Center in Grand Prairie, Texas. It is a processing operation working from your paperwork against a scoring policy. There is no relationship layer. There is no one to call. A claim of influence over designation is either a lie or a description of a federal crime, and you should assume the first one. ### Myth: “I can get your sentence reduced.” Sentence reduction is a legal matter: a 2255 motion, a Rule 35 motion, compassionate release (rare early release for extreme circumstances). Those are lawyer things, they are difficult, and most of them fail. A non-lawyer selling sentence reduction is selling either something they cannot deliver or the unauthorized practice of law. Neither is what you want, and [that pitch has its own page](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work). ### Myth: “I can get you into RDAP.” The residential drug abuse program (a drug program that can cut up to a year) is the largest single sentence reduction available to most people, which is exactly why it gets sold. Eligibility requires a documented substance use disorder, verified against your presentence report. Nobody can create that documentation for you after the fact, because the PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) cannot be amended after sentencing. A challenge gets attached next to the error and the original stays. Source: [PS 5330.11](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5330-11-psychology-treatment-programs-rdap), Psychology Treatment Programs (RDAP). What is genuinely true and genuinely useful: if you have a real history and it is not in the report, the window to get it in there closes at sentencing. That is worth knowing. It is also [on this site for free](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/before-sentencing), which is roughly the point. ### Myth: “My attorney told me he can place me at a specific facility.” Attorneys make this claim too. It is the same myth wearing a better suit. A judge can recommend a facility. The recommendation is one input among several under 18 U.S.C. 3621(b) and the Bureau is not bound by it. Ask for it anyway. It is free and it carries some weight. Just understand what it is. If your lawyer has been adamant that he can put you somewhere specific because his last three clients ended up there, consider that his last three clients may have scored into that facility on their own. ### Myth: “Act now, the price goes up, we need to move today.” Manufactured urgency, aimed at someone whose judgment is already compromised by fear. Almost nothing in this process moves that fast. Designation takes weeks. The genuinely time-sensitive item (your PSR objections) has a deadline your attorney already knows, and you can find it out by asking them for free. ## The opposite myth. ### Myth: “Prison consultants are all scams.” They are not, and I would say that even if I were not one. The federal system is genuinely opaque. It is run on policy documents most people never find, by staff with no obligation to explain anything, against a timeline nobody tells you about. Ordinary competent adults walk into it and lose months of their lives to things they did not know to ask about. The problem is not that the work is worthless. The problem is that the industry sells the parts it cannot deliver, because those are the parts frightened people most want to buy. ### Myth: “The information is secret.” Almost none of it is. Program statements (an official BOP policy document) are published on bop.gov, and the ones worth reading are [annotated here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements). The statutes are on the Cornell site. Facility handbooks are public. Your own sentence computation is available on request. Anyone treating public policy as proprietary is selling you access to a library. What is scarce is not the documents. It is knowing which document matters, what actually happens when policy meets a case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) with a caseload of 150, and which of the things you are afraid of are real. ### Myth: “A former warden knows best.” Some former staff do this work and some of them are good at it. Two things to hold alongside that. Having worked for the Bureau does not confer influence over it once you have left. And the system changed substantially with the First Step Act (the 2018 law behind earned time credits) in 2018: earned time credits, the PATTERN (the risk score affecting your credits) risk assessment system, the recalculation of good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble). Someone whose operational knowledge predates that is describing a system that no longer exists. Ask when they were last inside the system, in any capacity. The answer matters more than the title. ## What a consultant can actually do. The honest list is shorter than the sales pages and it is not nothing. - **Tell you what is coming, accurately and currently.** Most of the fear is of the wrong things. Replacing it with an accurate picture is worth more than people expect. - **Read your PSR before it is final.** Your lawyer is reading it for the sentence. Somebody should be reading it for your points, your public safety factors, your care level, your program eligibility, and your release address: none of which change the sentence and all of which govern the next several years. - **Run your points so you know what to expect.** Not to change them. To stop you being blindsided, and to let you recognize a sales pitch when you hear one. - **Prepare the things that cannot be fixed later.** Two-factor authentication, account access, power of attorney, medical documentation, the handoff document. These have hard deadlines and no second chances. - **Coach the family.** This is the most underrated piece. Mail formatting, visiting approval, how to call a unit team (the staff who run your daily life) without making it worse, when to push on an RRC (the halfway house before release) referral. The person outside has a real job and almost nobody tells them what it is. - **Be someone who answers in month nine.** When the case manager has stopped responding, or medical is ignoring something, or the referral has not happened and nobody will say why. Notice what is on that list: information, preparation, and someone paying attention. Notice what is not: outcomes anyone can promise. ### The halfway house question, honestly This is the one place where the value proposition is real and gets overstated anyway, so let me be precise. Nobody can order the Bureau to give you a longer pre-release placement. The referral is made by your unit team at a program review, and the warden signs it. Source: PS 7310.04, Community Corrections Center Utilization and Transfer Procedure. What is true is that nothing happens until someone asks, that there is no metric attached to anyone doing it on time, and that the entire cost of a late referral falls on you. Knowing when the window opens, asking at the right meeting, and having someone outside applying steady polite pressure genuinely changes outcomes. The mechanics are written up in [the halfway house and home confinement guide](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement), and the family side of it is [the halfway house push](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/pushing-for-halfway-house-time). > **From the inside — I did not push, and it cost me.** > > I did not push. I waited patiently and hoped my case manager would do his job. By the time he put me in for a year, there was no bedspace. My partner called the halfway house and the bed I would have otherwise been allocated, along with its home confinement, was placed the week before. I ended up getting just 30 days. > > That is the most expensive mistake I made and it was free to avoid, which is why the instructions for avoiding it are on this site rather than behind a payment. > > — Eighteen months, men's low ## How to evaluate anyone, including me. Eight questions. Ask them of every person who wants your money, and treat a bad answer to any of the first three as disqualifying. 1. **Do they guarantee an outcome?** Placement, sentence length, RDAP, halfway house duration. Any guarantee is a lie about a system that does not work that way. Walk away. 2. **Will they tell you when you do not need them?** If every conversation ends with you needing to hire someone, you are talking to a funnel. 3. **Can you verify their experience?** Which facility, what security level, what years, how long. Federal cases are public record. If they are vague about their own history, that is your answer. 4. **Is their information current?** Anything about time credits, risk assessment, or release calculation that predates 2019 is describing a different system. 5. **Do they cite sources or just assert?** Program statement numbers, statutes, CFR sections. If someone tells you something confidently and cannot point to where it comes from, they may still be right, but you have no way to know. 6. **Are prices published?** If you have to get on a call to learn what something costs, the price is being set based on how frightened you sound. 7. **Will they answer real questions before you pay?** Not a sales call. An actual question with an actual answer. 8. **Are they honest about what they do not know?** Nobody has done time at every security level, in every region, in every era. Someone who has an answer for everything has an answer for nothing. Apply all eight to me. [What I charge and what a consult covers](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-consultant) is published, and [who I work best with](https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it) says out loud who I turn away. If I fail one of the eight, do not hire me. Apply them to everybody else too. [Every consultant I could find is listed here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-consultants-list), sorted by where each one's authority comes from, with sources. It is a reference list rather than a set of recommendations, and I compete with all of them. ## When you do not need to hire anyone. Most people reading this do not need a consultant. That is an uncomfortable thing to publish on a site where I sell consulting, and it is true. Do not pay anyone if - Your case is straightforward, you have a competent attorney, and you have a normal amount of time to prepare; - your questions are answered [on this site](https://federalprisondude.com/resources), which most of them are; - you are looking for reassurance rather than information. A consultant is an expensive way to be told it will be okay, and a therapist is a better one; - you want someone to promise you a camp, in which case what you want does not exist; - or you are pre-indictment and nothing has happened yet. Paying is defensible if - A serious medical condition that has to survive the transition into custody; - non-citizen status, which changes designation, time credits, and everything after; - a high-profile case, where the ordinary rules about designation and placement bend in ways that are hard to anticipate; - a business or complex finances to wind down on a deadline; - a family that needs coaching more than you do; - or a long sentence, where small errors compound into years. If none of those describe you, read the guides, use the checklists, and keep your money. You are going to need it more than I do. Companion reading: [paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work) and [paying to get to XYZ facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). The two specific pitches, in full. **Need help with this? Just ask.** Before you pay anybody, including me, email me the question you were going to pay them to answer. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to hire anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Consultant%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-consultants-list # Every federal prison consultant I could find. No license, no board, no register. Nobody keeps an official list of who does this work, which is how a guy with a website and a confident phone manner ends up looking exactly like somebody with twenty years inside the system. So here is the list that should already exist. 19 people and firms, sorted by where their authority actually comes from, with what they sell and where the claim came from. You are about to hand somebody several thousand dollars in the worst month of your life. You should get to see the whole field first. About the phrase Prison consultant (the phrase people search for, not a licensed job) is a search term, not a job. No license behind it, no exam, no board, nothing anybody can take away. The title tells you nothing about the person wearing it. I wouldn't pick those words for myself. What I do is answer questions from people about to go through something I went through eighteen months of, and sit down with a few of them to build a plan. Call that a guide. But "prison consultant" is what people type at two in the morning when they're scared, so it's what this page is called and it's roughly what I get called. Hold everybody below to that. Nobody here earned the label. They picked it, same as me. Who is writing this I'm on this list and I take money, so I compete with almost everybody named below. [More about me in plain terms](https://federalprisondude.com/disclaimer). **This is not an endorsement** Nobody here is recommended by me. I haven't hired any of them, I haven't watched any of them work a case, and I can't tell you whether a given one is good at the job. Being listed means they exist and I found something public about them. Being left off isn't an accusation either. It almost certainly means I didn't find them. Nobody paid to be on this page. Nobody can pay to get added, moved up, or taken off. No referral fees, no affiliate money, no advertising, from anyone, ever. And read the obvious conflict: I make money when you pick me instead of them. Weigh every line below with that in front of you. ## How to read this — What is here and what is not All of it comes from public sources: news coverage, Wikipedia, BBB profiles, court reporting, and the firms' own marketing. Where a claim only exists in somebody's own marketing, I say so. "His site says" and "the Associated Press says" are not the same sentence, and this industry runs on you not noticing. I haven't verified anybody's results, their client outcomes, or their fees beyond what's published. None of this is a complaint about anybody's work. Where a public record shows a dispute, I linked the record instead of characterizing it. What the list is good for is calibration. Read it end to end and you'll see the service menus are nearly identical and the backgrounds are not. Then use the real tool: [the eight questions to ask before you pay anyone](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you). They apply to every name here, mine included. ## Former federal inmates The biggest group by a wide margin. Almost all of them built the practice on their own case, and almost all of those cases were fraud. ### Craig Rothfeld, Inside Outside Ltd. Worked in the securities industry, was indicted on financial charges, and served 18 months. Out in 2017. Sells mitigation before and after sentencing, plus help navigating the time itself, across Rikers Island, New York state prisons, the BOP, and several other state systems. The celebrity name on this page. NBC News has connected him to the Luigi Mangione and Sean Combs cases; he says high-profile work is about two percent of his business. He does not put prices in public. Site: [insideoutsideltd.com](https://insideoutsideltd.com/). Where this came from: [NBC News profile](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/prison-consultant-craig-rothfeld-high-profile-celebrities-diddy-rcna234930), [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Rothfeld). ### Sam Mangel, The Sam Mangel Federal Prison Consulting Group Ran a life insurance brokerage in Pennsylvania. Caught a wire fraud case in 2016, got 60 months, served around 20. Sells PSR preparation, designation strategy, RDAP qualification, clemency and commutation guidance, and family support. Leads with the media resume: CNN and NPR contributor credits. His site puts him near the Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, and Sam Bankman-Fried cases, which I could only find in his own marketing. Site: [sam-mangel.com](https://sam-mangel.com/). Where this came from: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Mangel), [Prisonpedia](https://prisonpedia.com/wiki/Sam_Mangel). ### Justin Paperny, White Collar Advice Stockbroker at Bear Stearns and UBS. Served 18 months for conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and securities fraud. Out in 2009. Sells sentencing narratives and mitigation packages, character reference letter coaching, self-surrender prep, and paid speaking on ethics. Co-founded Prison Professors and wrote Lessons from Prison. The widest press footprint on this page: New York Times, CNN, Fox, Forbes, Dr. Phil. Site: [whitecollaradvice.com](https://www.whitecollaradvice.com/). Where this came from: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Paperny). ### Michael Santos, Prison Professors Served 26 years of a 45-year cocaine trafficking sentence after a 1987 arrest. Earned a BA from Mercer and an MA from Hofstra while he was in. Sells courses and consulting for defendants and for people currently inside. His Preparing for Success After Prison course is used by the National Institute of Corrections. Co-founded Prison Professors with Justin Paperny and Shon Hopwood. The books, Earning Freedom and Inside, are sold as part of the practice. Site: [prisonprofessors.org](https://www.prisonprofessors.org/), [michaelsantos.com](https://michaelsantos.com/). Where this came from: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_G._Santos), [BOP reentry profile](https://www.bop.gov/resources/news/20230620_reentry_success.jsp). ### Larry Levine, Wall Street Prison Consultants Ten years in federal custody across eleven prisons and several security levels, which is more of the system than most people on this page have seen. Sells coverage from indictment through trial, sentencing, doing the time, and supervised release. He also runs White Collar Prison Consultants under similar branding. The firm says he was the first person to turn prison consulting into a business. That is his own claim and I have not found anyone independent backing it. Site: [wallstreetprisonconsultants.com](https://wallstreetprisonconsultants.com/). Where this came from: [Firm site](https://wallstreetprisonconsultants.com/). ### Dan Wise, Federal Prison Time Consulting, known as RDAP Dan Managed a pill mill pain clinic in Georgia. Pleaded guilty in 2014 and served 43 months on federal drug charges. Sells RDAP and almost nothing else: qualifying for it, and the sentence reduction that comes with it. Also character letters, PSR prep, and what he calls mindset coaching. More than 500 free YouTube videos feeding the paid work. The channel is the business. Site: [federalprisontime.com](https://www.federalprisontime.com/), [rdapdan.com](https://rdapdan.com/). Where this came from: [Corrections1 profile](https://www.corrections1.com/corrections/articles/ex-con-parlays-experience-into-prison-consulting-business-hy93WTc5JxEjbDiN/), [Spokesman-Review](https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/mar/28/spokane-valley-man-uses-experience-to-coach-incomi/). ### Richard Zaranek, Executive Prison Consultants Did BOP time for a financial crime tied to his former job as a public administrator. Sells a Defendant Services package: plea agreement analysis, placement, self-surrender, security scoring, and orientation before you go. Run with Patricia Zaranek, and going about 17 years, which makes it one of the older shops here. One thing to check for yourself: the firm's BBB profile carries a complaint alleging payment taken without services delivered. One complaint is one complaint, and you should read it rather than take my summary of it. Site: [executiveprisonconsultants.com](https://executiveprisonconsultants.com/). Where this came from: [Interview](https://federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/interview-richard-zaranek-president-executive-prison-consultants/), [BBB profile](https://www.bbb.org/us/mt/missoula/profile/prison-consultant/executive-prison-consultants-llc-1296-1000030101). ### Mike Sabo, Prison Consultants of America Founded the firm in 2006. The firm's marketing says he has been incarcerated himself; I could not verify that anywhere except the firm. Sells strategy for shorter sentences and for reentry, aimed at white-collar and nonviolent cases. Advertises appearances on Unsolved Mysteries and Discovery ID. Site: [pcamer.com](https://www.pcamer.com/). Where this came from: [Firm site](https://www.pcamer.com/). ### Christopher Zoukis, Zoukis Consulting Group, inside Elizabeth Franklin-Best P.C. Served 12 years in federal prison. Earned a bachelor's degree, an MBA from Adams State, and paralegal certifications while he was in. Sells preparation before, advocacy during, sentencing mitigation, early release strategy, reentry planning, and post-conviction work. Wrote the Federal Prison Handbook, the Directory of Federal Prisons, the Prison Education Guide, and College for Convicts. His firm's blog also interviews and links to several other people on this page, which is worth knowing when you find it while researching them. Site: [federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com](https://federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/), [zoukisconsultinggroup.com](https://zoukisconsultinggroup.com/). Where this came from: [Prisonpedia](https://prisonpedia.com/wiki/Prison_Consultants). ### Josh, this site That's me. I'm on my own list, because a map of the industry that leaves out the person drawing it is worth nothing. (Don't know why I chose a rainbow but whatever.) Eighteen months at FCI Thomson, a men's low. Out in 2025 and still on supervised release. My case was a sports streaming site, not fraud, which makes me the odd one out in this category. Sells a limited number of paid consults, at a price published on the site. Everything else here is free: the answers by email, the calculators, the facility guides, and the annotated rulebook. I would call it guiding rather than consulting, but nobody searches for that. I am one of the people this page is about, and I profit when you walk away from the others. That is the reason to read all of this with your guard up, including the parts about me. Site: [federalprisondude.com](https://federalprisondude.com/). ## Former Bureau of Prisons and government staff Authority from the other side of the count. They ran the system rather than served in it, which is a different kind of knowing and a genuinely useful one. ### Jack Donson, My Federal Prison Consultants 23 years as a BOP case manager, plus unit manager, case management coordinator, central inmate monitoring coordinator, and hostage negotiation team roles. Sells coaching for federal defendants on how the time actually works, from the staff side of the desk. Also Director of Programs and Case Management Services at FedCURE, a sentencing reform coalition. His rate is reported around $200 an hour, which is the only hourly number I found published anywhere on this page. He has no site of his own that I could find. The interview linked below is the best public profile there is, which is a strange thing to be true of somebody with that resume. Where this came from: [Interview](https://federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/interview-jack-donson-president-federal-prison-consultants/). ### Jeff Carson, The Law Offices of Alan Ellis The firm lists him as a former BOP deputy director for health services and a former warden at FMC Rochester in Minnesota and FPC Alderson, the women's camp in West Virginia. Sells consulting on health care, mental health care, case management, and issues specific to women inside. He also testifies at sentencing about the medical impact of incarceration. One of the few people in this whole industry whose specialty is medical, which is exactly the situation where paying somebody is most defensible. Site: [alanellis.com](https://alanellis.com/federal-bureau-prisons-consultant-jeff-carson-joins-firm/). ### John Webster, National Prison and Sentencing Consultants A former practicing lawyer rather than former BOP staff or a former defendant. Founded NPSC in Nashville in 2001. Sells plea agreement review, guideline calculations, PSI review, mitigation, designation, and RDAP help. Sells an A+ BBB rating and longevity. Site: [nationalprisonconsultants.com](https://www.nationalprisonconsultants.com/). Where this came from: [Firm site](https://www.nationalprisonconsultants.com/), [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-webster-75ba551a/). ## Law firms with a consulting arm Not consultants exactly. Practicing firms that added mitigation and placement work as a division, which means the legal work and the prison work sit under one roof. ### Alan Ellis, The Law Offices of Alan Ellis Criminal defense lawyer for more than 50 years. Past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a Fulbright recipient. Sells federal sentencing work, designation and placement, transfers, disciplinary matters, 2255 habeas work, and appeals. The in-house mitigation staff includes two former US probation officers, a forensic clinical social worker, and two former senior BOP people. The firm quotes a Ninth Circuit opinion calling him a nationally recognized expert in federal sentencing, and sells three guidebooks he wrote. Offices in San Francisco, New York, and per the firm site, Shanghai. Third-party commentary puts him at the expensive end of everything here. Site: [alanellis.com](https://alanellis.com/). Where this came from: [Firm overview](https://alanellis.com/firm-overview/). ### Elizabeth Franklin-Best P.C., Prison Consulting Division A South Carolina law firm that houses Christopher Zoukis's prison consulting division. Sells prison prep, help with problems that come up in custody, reentry planning, sentence reductions, earned time credits, clemency, pardons, and commutations. If you have contacted Zoukis, this is the same operation with a bar card attached to it. Site: [federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com](https://federalcriminaldefenseattorney.com/federal-prison-consulting-services/). ## The nonprofit origin One entry, kept here for context. This is roughly where the whole business came from. ### Herbert J. Hoelter, 1950 to 2024, National Center on Institutions and Alternatives A trained social worker, never incarcerated. Co-founded NCIA in 1977 with Dr. Jerome G. Miller, originally around juvenile justice reform and deinstitutionalization. Moved into federal sentencing mitigation in 1978, and is reported to have worked on roughly 15,000 cases between 1977 and 2022. AP and the Boston Globe treated him as one of the people who invented sentencing mitigation. Past clients included Martha Stewart, Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, and Bernie Madoff. He died in 2024. NCIA still operates, but it has broadened into disability services and vocational training and is not primarily a prison consulting operation anymore. He is here as history, not as somebody to call. Site: [NCIA organization profile](https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/national-center-on-institutions-and-alternatives,521094078/). Where this came from: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_J._Hoelter), [InfluenceWatch](https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-center-on-institutions-and-alternatives-ncia/). ## Other niches People whose angle does not fit any of the categories above. ### Tara Lenich, Liberty Advisors LLC More than ten years as a federal prosecutor, then federal criminal charges and civil litigation of her own. She has stood on both sides of a federal courtroom, which nobody else here can say. Sells mitigation specialist work, sentencing advocacy, prison consulting, and preparation for trial or plea, incarceration, and reentry. Site: [libertyadvisorsllc.com](https://libertyadvisorsllc.com/services/prison-consulting/). ### Brian Brown, Brown Reentry Consulting LLC Formerly incarcerated. His first opportunity after release was as a job coach in the disability field. Founded the firm in 2021. Sells something different from most of this page: supported employment for people with records who also have intellectual or developmental disabilities. Job development, coaching, career planning. No pre-sentencing or prison prep work at all. If your problem is the job hunt after the sentence rather than the sentence, this is the only entry here pointed at it. Where this came from: [Idealist profile](https://www.idealist.org/en/business/4a8888c8942445598124dbc15d638033-brown-reentry-consulting-llc-brookhaven). ### Jail Time Consulting, Firm branding, no named founder in public sources Branded as a firm rather than a person. I could not find a named founder in anything public. Sells RDAP, compassionate release, Second Chance Act eligibility, and home confinement guidance. Markets heavily on radio, TV, and news segments. Site: [jailtimeconsulting.com](https://www.jailtimeconsulting.com/federal-prison-consulting/). ## Five things you only see with all of them side by side ### Nobody is licensed, including me No certification, no continuing education, no oversight body, nothing to take away. Anybody can call themselves a federal prison consultant this afternoon. Wikipedia's own entry on the field opens with the skepticism that follows from that, and the skepticism is earned. ### The field is smaller than it looks By the practitioners' own estimate, reported by NBC News, maybe half a dozen firms in the country have real national reach. Everything else, this page included, is a second tier of regional and niche operators. If the same four names keep coming up while you search, that's not a conspiracy. That's the size of the industry. ### Everybody sells the same six things RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) qualification, PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) review, designation (which prison you're assigned to) strategy, First Step Act (the 2018 law behind earned time credits) and Second Chance Act credits, character reference letter coaching, and family support. That list runs nearly word for word across the whole page. It's also the list of things the Bureau decides on published rules, which is why [the page about what cannot be sold](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you) exists. ### Almost nobody publishes a price Here are the only public numbers I found across every name here: around $200 an hour for Jack Donson, and reported flat packages of $5,000 to $6,000 at Executive Prison Consultants. Everything else takes a phone call. When the price gets set on a call, it gets set on how frightened you sound. ### Most of this list is fraud guys selling to fraud guys Look at the first category again. It's overwhelmingly former white-collar defendants, and the marketing points at the person about to become one. That works when the client is a securities executive. It works worse when the client is headed to a low, where a lot of the population is doing drug sentences. So the question worth asking is not who is most famous. It's whose time looks like the time you're about to do. Background reading, none of it mine: [Wikipedia on prison consultants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_consultant), the New York Times on [Making Crime Pay](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/fashion/prison-consulting-draws-new-crop-of-ex-cons.html), and NBC News on [how the business started](https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32184197). ## What to do with this — Before you call any of them Work out what you're actually buying. Most of what this industry sells is information somebody already published, and most people who email me don't need to hire anybody. That's a bad thing to write on a page listing my competition, and it's still true. Then run whoever you're considering through [the eight questions](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you). Then check whether the thing you need is even this job. [Paying a non-lawyer for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work) and [paying anybody to get you to a specific prison](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison) are the two most common ways money leaves a family in this situation. Where I'm useful and where I'm not is [written down](https://federalprisondude.com/is-a-prison-consultant-worth-it), including the cases I turn away. **Need help with this? Just ask.** You don't have to pick anybody off this page. Email me the question you were going to pay somebody to answer. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to hire anyone for this" is still my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Consultant%20list) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-slang-and-terms # What the words mean. Count, callout, shot, car. Your first week runs on vocabulary nobody hands you at the door. ## People & roles ### Case manager (official) Handles your paperwork life: custody scoring, halfway house/RRC dates, FSA credits, furlough, transfers. The signature that moves your release date. Hard to get time with, most worth it. In a sentence: "My case manager still hasn't updated my halfway house date." ### Chaplain (official) Runs religious services, and also delivers death and emergency notifications to inmates. If someone dies in the family, the outside contacts the chaplain. In a sentence: "Their grandmother passed, so the chaplain called them down." ### CO (official) aka cop, corrections officer, correctional officer Uniformed staff who run the unit floor and do count. "CO" and "cop" are used interchangeably inside. In a sentence: "The CO on the floor made us re-rack for count." ### Duty officer (official) The staff member on call after hours. For families, sometimes the only person reachable in an emergency. In a sentence: "Call the prison and ask for the duty officer: it's an emergency." ### Lieutenant (official) aka the LT, LT Shift supervisors above the COs. When something real happens: a fight, a SHU trip, an investigation. The LT shows up. In a sentence: "Once the LT got involved, they walked my celly to the SHU." ### Loved one (official) aka inmate, defendant The inmate, referred to by their people on the outside. In a sentence: "My loved one is in the SHU again like an idiot." ### Orderly (official) An inmate work assignment: cleaning the unit, chow hall, etc. The most common first job. In a sentence: "They started me as a unit orderly making twelve cents an hour." ### PA (official) aka physician's assistant, medical Who you actually see for health issues. Not a fast system. Learn it early. In a sentence: "I put in for sick call but haven't seen the PA yet." ### Prison consultant (industry) aka federal prison consultant, prison consulting, consultant Not a profession. There is no license, no exam, no board, and nothing anybody can take away. It is the phrase people type into a search bar when they want somebody who has already been through the federal system to tell them what happens next, and it covers everything from honest preparation work to selling outcomes nobody can deliver. The title tells you nothing, so judge the person. In a sentence: "My lawyer told me to talk to a prison consultant before I self-surrender." ### Rep (slang) aka representative, driver The person who speaks for a car and handles its business with other groups and, informally, with the wider unit. Lower-key than a shot caller: more spokesman and organizer than boss. Softer in camps and lows, more defined as security rises. In a sentence: "If you've got a problem with someone, you talk to the rep, not them." ### Shot caller (slang) An inmate who runs a car. Inmate politics, not staff structure. Soft in camps and lows, more real as security goes up. In a sentence: "You want the TV changed, you ask the shot caller, not the CO." ### SIS (official) aka Special Investigative Services The prison's internal investigators. They monitor mail and TRULINCS for anything flagged. If SIS is looking at you, it's serious. In a sentence: "Word is SIS pulled their emails, so they're sweating it." ### Unit counselor (official) aka counselor Front-line staff for daily stuff: visiting list, phone list, commissary issues, job assignments. First stop for most problems. In a sentence: "Go see your counselor to get her added to your phone list." ### Unit manager (official) The boss of your unit. Escalate here when the case manager and counselor can't or won't help. In a sentence: "Counselor won't budge, so I'm taking it to the unit manager." ### Unit team (official) The staff who control your day-to-day life: case manager, counselor, and unit manager. "Take it to your team" means these people. In a sentence: "That's a team question: put in a cop-out and ask them." ## Groups & social ### Bunkie (slang) aka celly, cellmate Your bunkmate or cellmate. "Celly" at higher security, "bunkie" in open dorms. In a sentence: "My bunkie snores, so I'm barely sleeping." ### Car (slang) Your group, usually organized by geography ("the Chicago car"), race, or affiliation. New arrivals get pulled into a car and told the unspoken rules. In camps it's mostly social/logistics; higher up it's more serious. In a sentence: "They rolled in from Detroit, so they're in the Michigan car." ### Check-in (slang) aka checked in Someone who requested protective custody (checked into the SHU) to get away from a threat or a debt. Carries heavy stigma in general population. In a sentence: "They owed on a gambling debt and ended up checking in." ### Fish (slang) aka FNG A newcomer. You'll be one. In a sentence: "Go easy on them, they're a fish. Got here yesterday." ### Gang time (slang) aka on the yard Doing time where gang/car politics run daily life. Less true at camps, more true as security rises. In a sentence: "The pen was real gang time. This camp is nothing like it." ### Paperwork (slang) Just about anything and everything that has your name on it related to your case and previous cases, including state. This is commonly checked to ensure that one is not a snitch or an SO. In a sentence: "New arrival wouldn't show their paperwork, so nobody trusts them." ### Pisano (slang) aka mexican, pisca Translates to countryman, but used to define the car (your social group inside) for those from predominately Spanish-speaking countries. In a sentence: "The pisanos run the microwave on that side of the unit." ### Sex offender (slang) aka SO, chomo People convicted of sex offenses. In inmate culture they occupy the bottom of the social order and are frequently targeted. Terminology varies by facility. This is inmate social reality, not staff policy. In a sentence: "Word got around about their charge and now nobody sits with them." ### Solid (slang) aka solid white boy A reliable person who follows inmate etiquette. "They're solid" is a compliment. "Solid white boy" attaches a racial grouping: inside, groups sort along racial lines more than people expect. In a sentence: "Don't worry about them, they're solid." ## Places ### Chow hall (slang) aka chow The cafeteria. "Chow" is also the meal itself. Run by the clock and by count. In a sentence: "Meet me at chow, they're serving the good chicken." ### Commissary (official) The store. Food, hygiene, shoes, a radio, stamps: bought with money loaded to your account. Most of your quality of life inside. In a sentence: "I blew my whole commissary limit on coffee and mackerel." ### Compound (slang) The physical grounds of the facility. "Town driver" work details at camps can run off the immediate compound. In a sentence: "The whole compound's locked down after what happened at rec." ### R&D (official) aka Receiving & Discharge Where you're processed in and out. "They're in R&D" means movement is happening. In a sentence: "They're down in R&D: looks like they're finally transferring." ### RRC (official) aka halfway house, Residential Reentry Center Where many people finish a sentence before full release. Your case manager sets the date, and it isn't guaranteed. In a sentence: "My case manager put me in for six months at the RRC." ### Shopping (slang) Going to commissary. You get a spending limit and a shopping day tied to your unit. In a sentence: "Tuesday's my shopping day, tell me if you need anything." ### SHU (official) aka the shoe, segregation, the hole Solitary. Where you go for a disciplinary issue, an investigation, or protective custody. In a sentence: "They rolled up my celly and took them to the SHU last night." ### The yard (slang) Outdoor rec area, and also shorthand for the whole compound ("on the yard"). In a sentence: "I'll catch you on the yard after count." ### Transit (official) Being moved between facilities via slow, punitive transfers, sometimes weeks in on a bus. Rare but real, and terrifying for families who lose contact during it. In a sentence: "They've been in transit for three weeks, we haven't heard a word." ## Money, mail & communication ### Copay (official) Medical costs money inside. A small fee per sick-call visit comes out of the trust account. Families are always surprised. In a sentence: "They hit me with a copay just for asking about my knee." ### CorrLinks (official) The outside half of TRULINCS. The site/app you on the outside use to message someone inside. You accept an invite through CorrLinks first. In a sentence: "Accept my CorrLinks invite so I can actually write you." ### Email (TRULINCS message) (official) aka TRULINCS message Not real email. Text-only messages through TRULINCS, monitored, sometimes delayed by hours, only with pre-approved contacts. No links, no attachments. In a sentence: "Send me an email. Remember it's monitored, keep it clean." ### Green dot (slang) aka MoneyGram, Western Union How families actually put money on an account. Genuinely simple: consultants overcomplicate it to sound useful. In a sentence: "Just send a Green dot, it hits my account in an hour." ### Mail (official) Physical letters and photos, opened and screened by staff. Slow but reliable, and the thing people inside look forward to most. Rules on what you can send vary by facility. In a sentence: "Best part of my day is when mail call hits." ### PIN / phone minutes (official) aka phone PIN Inmate phone access is a monthly minute allowance paid from the account, dialed to pre-approved numbers, and monitored. In a sentence: "I'm almost out of minutes, so I'll call you Sunday." ### Stamp (slang) The unofficial currency. Books of stamps get traded for goods and services because cash isn't allowed. "Stamp rate" is the going price of things in stamps. In a sentence: "They ironed my shirts for two stamps." ### TRULINCS (official) The inmate computer system: email, phone, and account access in one. Everything on it is monitored and recorded. In a sentence: "I'll message you on TRULINCS once I'm off restriction." ### Trust fund (official) The BOP's banking system. Holds the money on your account (family deposits or prison job pay) that you spend at commissary and on phone/email. In a sentence: "Have them send it to my trust fund, not the old address." ## System, sentence & release ### Ankle monitor (supervision/legal) aka location monitoring, GPS monitor The tech reality of home confinement: what it does, what it doesn't, and what sets it off. In a sentence: "I can't be out past nine or the ankle monitor flags it." ### BOP (official) aka Bureau of Prisons The federal agency that runs the whole thing. In a sentence: "The BOP transferred them without telling the family." ### Compassionate release (supervision/legal) aka reduction in sentence, RIS The rare early-release path for extraordinary circumstances. Asked about far more than it's granted: set expectations honestly. In a sentence: "Their lawyer filed for compassionate release, but it's a long shot." ### Conditions of supervision (supervision/legal) aka travel approval The rules during supervised release, including needing permission to travel. Almost nobody explains the travel-approval process in advance. In a sentence: "Leaving the district's against my conditions without approval." ### Designation (official) Which facility the BOP assigns you to. Nobody can guarantee a specific placement. Anyone selling you that is lying. In a sentence: "We're still waiting on their designation to know where they're going." ### Detainer (supervision/legal) A hold placed by another jurisdiction (state, ICE, another federal district). Can block halfway house and change how a sentence ends. Big impact, poorly understood. In a sentence: "They've got a state detainer, so no halfway house for them." ### First Step Act (official) aka FSA, the First Step Act The 2018 federal law that reshaped a lot of how sentences actually end. Its biggest day-to-day impact is FSA credits: time earned through programming that moves up your release or halfway house, but it also expanded compassionate release and changed some sentencing rules. When people say "FSA," they usually mean the credits; this is the law they come from. In a sentence: "They qualify under the First Step Act, so they're earning credits toward the door." ### FSA credits (official) aka First Step Act credits Time credits earned through programming, applied toward earlier release or halfway house. In a sentence: "My FSA credits knocked more time off than I expected." ### Furlough (official) A temporary authorized absence from the facility. Rare, tightly controlled, and not something to count on. In a sentence: "Don't count on a furlough, almost nobody gets one." ### Good conduct time (official) aka GCT, good time Days off your sentence for not getting in trouble. People wildly miscalculate release dates: how GCT and FSA stack is worth getting right. In a sentence: "With good time I'm out about seven weeks early." ### Home confinement (supervision/legal) aka house arrest Finishing a sentence at home under monitoring. Distinct from supervised release, and people conflate the two constantly. In a sentence: "I finished the last four months on home confinement." ### PACER (supervision/legal) aka sealed case The public federal court records system. A plain note on what's public and what's sealed helps families searching for a case avoid getting scared or scammed. In a sentence: "You can pull their case on PACER unless it's sealed." ### Parole (supervision/legal) Doesn't exist in the modern federal system. If a consultant implies they can get someone "paroled," that's a tell they don't know federal from state. In a sentence: "There's no parole in the feds: that's a state thing." ### PATTERN (official) The BOP's risk score that affects your FSA credits and programming eligibility. In a sentence: "My PATTERN score dropped to low, so I qualify for more." ### Probation officer (supervision/legal) aka PO, U.S. Probation Who supervises you during supervised release. A different agency from the BOP entirely. In a sentence: "I have to clear it with my PO before I travel." ### Program statement (official) The BOP's own written policy on a topic. Translating these into human is the whole point of this site. In a sentence: "The program statement actually says otherwise. Read it." ### PSR (official) aka PSI, presentence report The presentence report. Follows you the whole sentence and shapes your custody score, programming, and treatment inside. In a sentence: "Whatever's in your PSR follows you the whole bid." ### RDAP (official) aka Residential Drug Abuse Program A roughly 9-month program that can take up to a year off a sentence if you qualify. In a sentence: "I got into RDAP. It's nine months but takes a year off." ### Self-surrender (official) Reporting to prison on your own on a set date instead of being taken into custody. Common for nonviolent first-timers. In a sentence: "They get to self-surrender in March instead of being cuffed at court." ### Sentence (official) aka bid The maximum duration of an individual's term of imprisonment. In a sentence: "How long is your sentence?" ### Supervised release (supervision/legal) What comes after the sentence: a term under a probation officer with conditions. Not parole: federal parole basically doesn't exist anymore, which confuses everyone. In a sentence: "I'm done with the sentence but I've got three years of supervised release." ### UNICOR (official) aka Federal Prison Industries The prison work program that pays better than regular jobs. Competitive to get into. In a sentence: "I finally got a UNICOR spot, it pays way better than the kitchen." ### Violation (supervision/legal) aka revocation Breaking a supervised-release condition can send you back. Worth demystifying calmly rather than dramatically. In a sentence: "A dirty test would be a violation and I'd go back." ## Daily life & rules ### A&O (official) aka Admission & Orientation Your first days: paperwork, medical intake, the rules briefing. Disorienting and slow. Families won't hear much during this window: that's normal. In a sentence: "I'm still in A&O so I don't have a job or a phone yet." ### Callout (official) aka callout sheet The daily printed schedule of where you're required to be: medical, education, team meetings. You check it every day; missing a callout is a problem. In a sentence: "I'm on the callout for medical at 8, can't miss it." ### Controlled movement (official) aka move Movement between areas only happens during scheduled windows, often ten minutes on the hour. You can't just walk somewhere. This is why everything feels slow. In a sentence: "It's controlled movement, so I've got ten minutes on the hour." ### Count (official) Head counts several times a day at fixed times. Everything stops and you stand at your bunk. Miss it or move during it and it's a disciplinary problem. Nights and weekends have their own schedule. In a sentence: "Can't move, it's count: I'll call you after it clears." ### Count-cleared (slang) aka two-hour rule Movement is frozen until a count is verified. This is why you sometimes can't reach someone for hours: it's not a bad sign. In a sentence: "Once count clears I'll head to the phones." ### Duce (slang) aka duce head, crackhead Slang for someone strung out, usually on K2. Terminology varies by region and facility. In a sentence: "They're a duce now, spend everything they've got on K2." ### K2 (slang) aka spice Synthetic cannabinoid sprayed on paper, smuggled and smoked inside. Unpredictable and dangerous; a common cause of medical emergencies and lockdowns. In a sentence: "Ambulance came again: somebody smoked K2 in the bathroom." ### Lockdown (official) Everyone confined to units, movement stopped. Can be routine, or triggered by an incident anywhere on the compound. In a sentence: "We've been on lockdown for three days, no visits." ### Mainline (slang) The main meal service, and the informal window when staff, including the warden. Are supposed to be in the chow hall to hear complaints. In a sentence: "Catch the warden at mainline if you want to complain." ### Rec (official) aka rec call Recreation time and the announcement that opens it. In a sentence: "They just called rec, I'm gonna go walk the track." ### Spread (slang) aka hooch A spread is a shared meal built from commissary items: how people socialize and mark occasions inside. Hooch is improvised alcohol, which is contraband. In a sentence: "We made a spread for their release: mackerel, rice, and chips." ## Discipline ### DHO (official) aka Discipline Hearing Officer Handles the serious shots and can take good conduct time. Families should know this exists because it can move a release date. In a sentence: "It got serious, so it's going to the DHO. That could cost me good time." ### JPATS (official) aka Con-Air, BOP transport The federal transfer system that moves people between facilities. When someone "goes dark" for a stretch, this is usually why. In a sentence: "They got put on JPATS, so they could be anywhere for a month." ### Shot (official) aka incident report A disciplinary write-up. Can cost you privileges, commissary, or good conduct time depending on severity. Numbered by code, and it moves through a hearing process. In a sentence: "I caught a shot for having an extra shirt in my locker." ### UDC (official) aka Unit Disciplinary Committee The unit-level hearing for lower-severity shots. Handles minor incident reports before they'd ever reach the DHO. In a sentence: "UDC took my commissary for a week over that shot." Words are the start. For what the rules actually say, see [the program statements, annotated](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements). For the run-up to the door, see [what to expect](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report). For how the days actually run, see [while you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like). For the person on the outside, see [for families](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide). **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Glossary%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report # Before you go in This covers the period between now and the day the door slams behind you. It is organized by where you are, not by topic. Find where you are and read forward. Four parts, organized by where you are in the process. Below: the four moves that matter most, then the parts themselves. ## Start here — The four things that matter most These are the things I tell everyone who pays me: Cheat sheet - **Fix errors in your presentence report (the report that follows you the whole sentence) before sentencing.** After sentencing the report cannot be amended. - **Set up your digital and financial life** on the assumption that the person handling it becomes unreachable. - **Do your intake assessments in your first week.** They gate your time credits. - **Ask about halfway house (the halfway house before release) placement at your first team meeting, and keep asking.** This is where months are won or lost. ## Find yourself in the pipeline ### [Before sentencing](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/before-sentencing) The shortest window and the one people waste. The presentence report, judicial recommendations, self-surrender, and mitigation that is worth the effort. ### [Sentenced, waiting for designation](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/waiting-for-designation) Who actually decides where you go, how to run your own points, and getting your digital, financial, and medical life in order while you still can. ### [Designated, counting down](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/counting-down-to-self-surrender) Learn the place, figure out the money part and communication before you go, get your visiting list ready, and understand what report day actually looks like. ### [What to carry in your head](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/what-to-memorize) You cannot look any of this up once you are inside. Week one, your own release math, and the halfway house push. Short, because it is meant to be memorized. ## There's more after the door This guide ends the day you report. What is on the other side of the door (cars, the unwritten rules, debt, working with staff, and how the days actually run) is [its own guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like). Read it before you go, because you cannot read it after. ## The source of this information Most of what's here is either documented policy or something I lived. Where a claim rests on secondhand information, or where a number moves around and you should confirm it yourself, it is marked. Policy citations point to Bureau of Prisons (the federal Bureau of Prisons) [Program Statements](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements), which are public. If someone tells you something that contradicts a Program Statement (an official BOP policy document), they are probably wrong, and you can tell them that. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Going-in%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/before-sentencing # Before sentencing This is the shortest window and the one people waste. You still have leverage here. After sentencing, most of these doors close. ## The document — The presentence report The PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) is the single most consequential document in your case, and it will outlive your sentencing hearing by years. Probation interviews you, writes a report, and gives it to the judge. That much people expect. What most defendants do not know is that the report then travels with them. Rule 32 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requires the court to append its rulings on disputed facts to any copy of the PSR given to the Bureau of Prisons (the federal Bureau of Prisons): the rule assumes transmission. The Advisory Committee note to the 1983 amendment says it plainly: the report accompanies the defendant to the institution and supplies the background for the Bureau's classification summary, which determines classification within the facility and the choice of treatment programs. So the PSR does two separate jobs, and they need separate attention. - It shapes your sentence. This is the part your lawyer is focused on. - It supplies the raw data for your custody scoring, your public safety factors, and your program eligibility. This is the part nobody is focused on. ## The deadline — The objection window is the only one you get Here is the part that surprises people. If you later find an error in your PSR while you are inside, staff will take a written challenge and forward it to Probation. But Probation will not change the report. It is a court document, and their procedures do not permit amendments or addenda after sentencing. **The error stays.** Your challenge and Probation's response get attached to the file, next to the error. Everything downstream keeps reading it. Read the draft carefully and file objections on time. Not just the parts that affect your guideline calculation. Program Statement 5800.17, Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files. ## The checklist — What to check that your lawyer probably will not Your attorney is optimizing for the sentence. These fields do not move the sentence and will govern the next several years of your life: - Criminal history entries, including arrests that did not result in conviction; - any characterization of violence, weapons, or threats, however incidental; - escape or failure-to-appear history, including old state matters; - detainers (a hold from another jurisdiction) or pending charges in other jurisdictions; - substance use history: both its presence and its absence; - education level; - mental and physical health history, which drives your care level assignment; - gang or group affiliation, however loosely described; - and your intended release address. That last one is not a formality. The Bureau uses it to place you near home, and Probation verification of the address is what makes it real. ### Substance use documentation The residential drug abuse program (a drug program that can cut up to a year) is the largest single sentence reduction available to most people, and eligibility is verified against the PSR. If there is a real history there, it needs to be in the report before sentencing. Getting it added afterward is difficult for the reasons above. This cuts both ways. If you do not have a qualifying history, no amount of maneuvering will manufacture one, and people who try tend to make things worse for themselves. Confirm current eligibility criteria against [Program Statement 5330.11](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5330-11-psychology-treatment-programs-rdap) before relying on this. ## Ask the judge — Judicial recommendations The judge cannot decide where you go. The Bureau of Prisons designates independently, and the court's recommendation is one input among several under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b). Ask for the recommendations anyway. They are free, they are routinely granted at sentencing, and they carry some weight at designation: - A specific facility, or a specific geographic region; - the drug program, if you qualify; - and permission to self-surrender (reporting to prison on your own). Understand what you are getting. A recommendation is a preference on the record, not a placement. Anyone who tells you they can guarantee a facility is selling you something. ### Self-surrender Reporting on your own is materially better than being taken into custody at the hearing. You get time to arrange your affairs, you skip transit through holding facilities, and it counts in your favor in the scoring. Ask for it explicitly. It is commonly granted in non-violent cases where the defendant has been compliant on pretrial release. ## Mitigation — What is worth the effort Documented, verifiable, and started early beats a letter written the week before. Counseling with records. Treatment with an intake date. Employment you did not lose. Community service with a supervisor who will sign something. Character letters matter less than people think and are often the only thing defendants focus on. ### [Sentenced, waiting for designation](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/waiting-for-designation) Nothing appears to be happening and it is unbearable. This is the most useful stretch of time you have, so use it. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Going-in%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/waiting-for-designation # Sentenced, waiting for designation Nothing appears to be happening and it is unbearable. This is the most useful stretch of time you have, so use it. ## Designation — Who decides where you go The Designation and Sentence Computation Center in Grand Prairie, Texas. Not the judge, not your lawyer, not a consultant. DSCC cannot act until it has your paperwork: the presentence report (the report that follows you the whole sentence), the judgment, the statement of reasons, and any monitoring documentation. Once it has everything, [Program Statement 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification) contemplates a decision within a few working days. The wait is almost always the paperwork arriving, not the decision itself. In practice, expect several weeks. Mine came about six weeks after sentencing. If it is dragging, the question to ask your attorney is whether Probation has transmitted the PSR. That is usually the holdup. ## Run your own points — Score yourself before they do Classification is a scored system, not a judgment call. You can calculate it yourself, and you should, because it tells you what to expect before a letter arrives. The scoring uses severity of the current offense, criminal history, history of violence, history of escape, detainers (a hold from another jurisdiction), age, education level, substance use history, and whether you were permitted to voluntarily surrender. The output is a security level. Then there are public safety factors, which override the score. There are eleven of them. Several (a deportable alien determination, a lengthy remaining sentence, sex offender status) will keep you out of a minimum security camp regardless of how low your points are. [Program Statement 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification), Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification. ## Reality check — Two things people get wrong here "Somebody can get me into a camp.": Nobody can. Not your lawyer, not a consultant, not for any amount of money. The score is the score, and the overrides are the overrides. Anyone charging you for placement is charging you for something they do not control. "The judge said where I'm going.": The Bureau does not work for the court. Judges recommend. The Bureau decides, and it will send people to places that make no apparent sense. If your attorney has been adamant that they can place you somewhere specific, treat that as marketing. The long version of both: [Paying to get to XYZ facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). ## The countdown — Getting your affairs in order Everything in this section is a deadline. Work from the assumption that once you are inside, you cannot fix any of it, and the person handling it for you may become unavailable, through illness, distance, a falling out, or simple exhaustion. ### Digital This is the one that ruins people, and almost nobody warns you about it. - Turn off two-factor authentication anywhere you can, or move it off a device you will not have; - print recovery codes and leave them somewhere physical; - give someone real access to your password manager, not a vague promise of access; - move domains, business accounts, and anything on auto-renew to a card that will not expire; - identify anything tied to a phone number you are about to stop paying for; - and write down what happens to each account if nobody touches it for two years. Phone-based authentication assumes you have a phone. You will not have a phone. Recovery flows assume you can receive a text. You cannot receive a text. ### Financial - Power of attorney, executed and in someone's hands; - signature authority on accounts that need to stay live; - autopay for anything whose lapse causes cascading damage: insurance, storage, domains; - a decision about what gets cancelled rather than carried; - and a realistic accounting of what the household looks like without your income. ### Legal and administrative - Taxes, including the years you will be gone; - mail forwarding to whoever is handling your affairs; - benefits, insurance, and anything requiring annual re-enrollment; - licenses and certifications that expire, and what reinstatement requires; - and vehicle registration and storage. ### Medical and dental Handle it now. Get the procedure done, get the prescriptions documented, get the specialist's records in writing. Care inside is slower and narrower than what you have access to today, and a dental problem you could have fixed in an afternoon becomes a months-long process. Bring documentation of ongoing conditions and current prescriptions with you. ## The handoff document Write it now, while you still have access to everything. This is the document the person outside will use for the entire time you are gone. Write it for someone who is not technical and is not calm. Assume they will read it under stress, months from now, looking for one specific thing. It should contain: - An inventory of accounts, what each is for, and how to get into it; - who to call for what, with names and numbers; - recurring deadlines and what happens if one is missed; - decisions they are authorized to make without asking you, stated explicitly; - your sentence math, so they can check the Bureau's arithmetic; - and the halfway house (the halfway house before release) timeline, with the policy citation, so they know when to start pushing. That last item is the reason this document exists. You will not be able to look up policy inside. They can. ### [Designated, counting down](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/counting-down-to-self-surrender) You have a facility and a date. The remaining work is logistics, and most of it has to happen before you leave. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Going-in%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/counting-down-to-self-surrender # Designated, counting down You have a facility and a date. The remaining work is logistics, and most of it has to happen before you leave. ## Homework — Learn the place Every institution publishes an admission and orientation (your disorienting first days of intake) handbook. Read it. It covers visiting hours, property limits, the commissary (the prison store) list, and local rules that vary considerably between facilities. Family groups on social media for specific institutions are genuinely useful for logistics. Visiting room conditions, what gets rejected at the mailroom, how long approval is taking right now. They are also full of people selling consulting services. Take the logistics and ignore the sales. Anything you read about culture, danger, or what the population is like should be treated as rumor until you get there. Start with the [facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) for the place you're going, and the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) for its family groups. ## Money — Set it up before you go Funds reach you through a central lockbox by mail, or electronically through MoneyGram (how families load money onto the account) or Western Union. Each has different timing and fees. Have the person outside do a small test deposit before your report date so you both know the process works. Two things to understand about money inside: - Commissary spending is capped monthly. The figure has been around $360 for a while, but it is adjusted and can vary locally. - If you owe restitution or a fine, the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program takes payments from your account on a schedule that is recalculated periodically based on what comes in. Money sent to you is not entirely yours. Confirm the current commissary cap and the IFRP schedule against Program Statement 5380.08 and the facility handbook. ## Communication — Phones and messaging, tested in advance Phone time is capped monthly and calls are cut off automatically at a set duration. The monthly allowance has changed more than once in recent years; confirm the current figure rather than trusting anything you read online, including this. The phone system requires the person answering to press a key to accept the call. Some virtual number services do not forward keypresses correctly, and Google Voice is the common failure. TextPlus has historically worked. Test it with your people before you leave, not after. Electronic messaging runs through TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored), with a delay in both directions and a per-minute charge. Assume everything you write is read, stored, and potentially quoted back to you. Write accordingly. The messaging rules, annotated: [Program Statement 5265.13](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging). ## Start the visiting list now Visitors have to be approved, which means forms, background checks, and waiting. Starting this after you arrive costs you months of visits. Get the forms to the people you want to see, have them complete them accurately, and understand that a criminal record on their side may complicate approval. The visiting rules, annotated: [Program Statement 5267.09](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5267-09-visiting-regulations). ## Report day — Walking in Your designation letter states where and by what time. Be early. Bring almost nothing. Whatever you carry in is either stored, mailed home at your expense, or lost. What is generally worth bringing: - Photo identification; - your designation paperwork; - a written list of phone numbers and addresses, because your phone is not coming with you; - documentation of medical conditions and current prescriptions; - and prescription eyeglasses. Leave everything else. Assume you will not see it again. That is not cynicism, it is the ordinary outcome. Intake takes several hours. It is tedious rather than dramatic. Tell whoever drops you off not to expect contact for a few days. Getting phone and messaging access set up takes time, and the silence is normal. ### [What to carry in your head](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/what-to-memorize) You cannot look any of this up once you are inside. This section is short because it is meant to be memorized. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Going-in%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/what-to-memorize # What to carry in your head You cannot look any of this up once you are inside. This section is short because it is meant to be memorized. ## Week one — The first moves **Do the intake assessments immediately.** There is a needs assessment and a risk assessment (the risk score affecting your credits), and together they determine whether you are earning time credits. Nobody will chase you to complete them. Every week you wait is time you do not get back. **Get enrolled in programming.** Time credits accrue through participation in assigned programs and productive activities. Ask what you have been assigned, ask how to enroll, and enroll. **Get on a job list.** Work assignments count, and the good ones are taken by people who asked first. **Find out when your first team meeting is.** This is where your unit team (the staff who run your daily life) reviews your case. It is the meeting where things get decided. Who these people are and how to deal with them is covered in [the staff section of the while-you're-in guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff). ## The math — Understand your own release math Three things reduce your time, and they stack: - Good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble), at 54 days per year of the sentence imposed; - earned time credits (time off earned through programming) under the First Step Act, at 10 days for every 30 days of successful participation, rising to 15 days for every 30 if you are assessed as minimum or low risk on two consecutive assessments; - and pre-release placement in a halfway house (the halfway house before release) or on home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring). Earned time credits toward early release to supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole) are capped at 365 days. Credits beyond that cap do not evaporate. They are applied toward pre-release custody. Which is precisely why the next section matters. Check your sentence computation when you get it. Errors are common, and nobody will find them for you. Run the math yourself before you go: [the time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) and [the PATTERN calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator). ## The push — The halfway house push This is the section that changes outcomes, and it is the reason you wrote the handoff document. Policy contemplates that your unit team makes a pre-release placement referral roughly seventeen to nineteen months before your projected release date, at a scheduled program review, with the warden signing off. Statute permits up to twelve months in a halfway house, and separately permits home confinement for the shorter of ten percent of the term or six months. What actually happens is that nothing happens until someone makes it happen. Case managers (the staffer who controls your release date) carry large caseloads, there are no meaningful metrics on this, and the practical consequence of a late referral falls entirely on you. If your sentence is short, the referral window may open almost immediately upon arrival, which means you need to raise it at your very first team meeting, not your second. At that meeting: - Ask what your projected release date is and how it was calculated; - ask when your pre-release referral is scheduled; - ask what your recommended placement length is; - and ask for it in writing, or write down the date and the name of the person who told you. If nothing moves, escalate: case manager, then unit manager (the boss of your housing unit), then the formal administrative remedy process, which starts with an informal resolution attempt and proceeds to a written request to the warden. Have the person outside call the unit team as well. Two points of pressure work better than one. Be polite. Politeness is a tactic, not a strategy. I did not push, and it cost me the better part of a year in home confinement I was eligible for. That is the single most expensive mistake I made, and it was entirely avoidable. Program Statement 7310.04, Community Corrections Center Utilization and Transfer Procedure. ## Paper trail — Keep a record Dates, names, and what was said. Every conversation about your release date, your programming, your medical care. It takes two minutes and it is the only leverage you will ever have in an administrative remedy. ## One last thing — What it is actually like The dominant experience is not danger. It is boredom, repetition, and waiting on people who are not in a hurry. Most of what you are afraid of right now will not happen. Most of what will actually frustrate you is administrative. How the place works socially (who talks to whom, what gets asked on day one, what not to say) is [a separate guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like), and it deserves the same read. ### [While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like) This guide ends at the door. The next one covers what is on the other side of it: cars, debt, the unwritten rules, and how the days actually run. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Going-in%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like # After the door slams behind you [The previous guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report) covers everything you do before the door. This one covers what happens after it. It is not a task list. It is what it's like to be a number and a nickname somebody else picked for you (I was "Lil J" or "gay-not-gay Josh," depending on who was talking). Read it before you go. You will not be able to look anything up once you are inside. Nine parts, written to be read in order. The rest of this page is the front matter: what the guide covers, and one thing you need to know before part one. ## The frame — What this tries to cover This covers most cases, not all of them. What's here holds across the federal system wherever you land. The differences are mostly between security levels, and sometimes between joints, though those are subtler. If you are headed to a low, [the low security guide](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison) covers what changes there, and per-institution details are in [the facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons). Where something forks, it is marked. I did my time at a men's low. Everything here comes from that or from documented policy. For other levels, all I have is what people told me, and I say so when that's what I'm working from. I have nothing useful to say about women's facilities. They differ enough in social structure that anything I wrote would be a guess. I am not qualified and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Look elsewhere for that, and be skeptical of anyone who claims to cover both without having done both. ## A note before the part that sounds bad Inmates in federal prison sort into groups (called cars (your social group inside)), and those groups are organized largely along racial lines, then by region or home state. This is not a fringe dynamic or an artifact of one bad facility. It is the basic organizing structure of the population, and it will apply to you on your first day whether or not you want anything to do with it. I am describing a structure. I did not build it, I do not defend it, and nothing here should be read as endorsement. It is in this guide for one reason. A person who walks in without knowing this arrives unprepared for the first conversation they have, misreads what is being asked of them, and makes avoidable mistakes in their first week that follow them for the rest of their sentence. Preventing that is the entire purpose of this document. Leaving it out to make the guide more comfortable to read would make it useless. ## The golden rules of surviving If you read nothing else: Cheat sheet - **Be unremarkable.** Not liked, not feared. Someone who does not generate problems. - **Do not touch anything that is not yours.** The closest thing to an absolute rule in the building. - **Pay when you said you would pay.** The amount is beside the point. Your word is what is being tested. - **Assume nothing you say stays where you said it.** And do not repeat things either. ## Read it in order ### [1. The role](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/how-to-carry-yourself) You stop being an individual who makes decisions and become the occupant of a position. The adjustment, intake, the paperwork conversation, and your first days. ### [2. Cars](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/cars-and-race-politics) The group you are aligned with from day one. What it gives you, what it expects back, who the driver is, and why the whole structure holds. ### [3. The unwritten rules](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/unwritten-rules) Property, space, the television, the phone, the shower. What never gets asked and what never gets volunteered. None of it is posted. All of it is enforced. ### [4. Debt](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people) There is no cash, so everything is credit, and a small unpaid debt escalates far out of proportion to its size. The rule, and how new arrivals get caught. ### [5. Information and trust](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-not-to-say) The telephone game, played constantly and badly. What never gets discussed, why your locker is not private, and the value of repeating nothing. ### [6. Working with staff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff) Correctional officers, the unit team, and your case manager. Who does what, how to ask, and who is watching you do it. ### [7. What conflict costs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-a-fight-costs) A twenty-second fight can cost months, and the price is set by policy. The sanctions, the arithmetic, and how to step back without looking weak. ### [8. The economy](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles) Stamps, stores, and services. What things cost, why they cost that, and what happens when the episodic enforcement finally arrives. ### [9. Your time](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-the-days-are-like) Boredom, routine, the visit cycle, and watching for the drop. What a year of not deciding anything does to you, and what helps. ## If you do not have time for nine parts ### [The checklist](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-while-you-are-inside) The ten things that matter most inside, ranked by what getting them wrong costs you. Everything above, compressed into one page. ### [The FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq) Just about anything you could ask, answered: hygiene, cellies, money, cooking, yard economics, broken bones. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/how-to-carry-yourself # The role The hardest adjustment is not the food, the noise, or the absence of privacy. It is that you stop operating as an individual who makes decisions and start operating as an occupant of a position. ## The very one thing — The most important part of your entire bid (term of imprisonment) Do not do anything to get anyone else fucked off. There is nothing more important. For people at lows and camps, everyone is just trying to go home. At the same time, some people are hustling, and you must not do anything to disturb their hustle. This means stay out of the way. Do not be nosy, do not look into people's cells, do not glance, do not talk about people you don't know (or talk at all because the telephone game is so poorly played). This is a hard adjustment for many. The federal prison population is full of characters who you wouldn't otherwise see or interact with in life. That doesn't make them novelties. Your business is your business. Theirs is theirs. ## The adjustment — Nothing about your day is yours When you eat, when you sleep, when you can move between buildings, when you must be standing next to your bunk to be counted. Counts (the daily headcount where everything stops) happen several times a day and everything stops for them. You will spend a remarkable amount of your life waiting for a number to clear. The second thing to absorb is that explaining yourself does not work. On the outside, being reasonable and articulate is an asset. You can talk your way through most friction because the people you deal with are weighing your reasoning. Inside, nobody is. Staff are applying rules and avoiding liability. Other inmates are reading your behavior as a position, not as an argument. Your intent is invisible and largely irrelevant; only what you did is legible. This is disorienting for people who are good at explaining things. Several of the skills that made you effective in your career are, in here, either inert or actively counterproductive. **The goal is not to be liked, respected, or feared. The goal is to be unremarkable**. Someone who does not generate problems for staff, for their car (your social group inside), or for the people who sleep near them. That sounds like a defeat. It is not. It is the single hardest thing to do consistently, and doing it well is what makes the time pass without incident. ## Day one — Intake Intake is administrative and tedious: property, a strip search, medical and mental health screening, photographs, a bed roll, and a housing assignment. The dramatic version people imagine does not happen. What happens next is the part nobody prepares you for. ## The vetting — Someone will find you Within hours of arriving on the unit, someone from your car will introduce themselves. This is not a threat and it is not hazing. It is an intake process, and it serves a purpose for them: your behavior is going to reflect on them, so they want to know who you are before you become their problem. ## The first question — The paperwork conversation The first real question you will be asked is what you are in for. What is actually being determined is whether you have a sex offense. That is what "good paperwork" means. Your judgment and your presentence report (the report that follows you the whole sentence) do not show one. You may never be asked to produce anything (usually the question is the whole of it), but your initial classification paperwork reflects your Walsh Act status, and that is the document people mean. **How to answer: state your offense plainly and briefly.** Do not inflate it, and do not embellish. Do not go vague either. Vagueness reads as concealment, and it is the one answer that creates suspicion where there was none. People with financial cases get an additional round of questions, most of it curiosity. The population is broadly fascinated by fraud and a fair number of people will ask you how it was done, as though there were a recipe. Deflect pleasantly and repeatedly. You are not obligated to be interesting. ## The intake kit — You arrive with nothing You will not have access to commissary (the prison store) for your first week or two. In the meantime you have no soap, no toothpaste, no shower shoes, no coffee, and no writing materials. Your car will front you the basics. This is expected, it is routine, and refusing it marks you as strange rather than principled. It also is not a favor in any deep sense. It is an intake kit, and everyone got one. Do not accept anything from anyone outside that process during your first weeks. Unsolicited generosity from a stranger is a known opening move, and [the debt chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people) explains where it goes. ## Territory — Your space You get a bunk and a locker. Everything you own fits in the locker, and the amount of property you are permitted is capped. Learn immediately where your area ends and someone else's begins, because that boundary is the source of more friction than any other single thing. ### [Cars](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/cars-and-race-politics) You have one from the day you arrive. You do not choose it, and the only real choice you have is how you conduct yourself within it. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/cars-and-race-politics # Cars You have one from the day you arrive. You do not choose it, and the only real choice you have is how you conduct yourself within it. ## The structure — What a car is A car (your social group inside) is the group you are aligned with inside. It sorts primarily by race, then by region, home state, or city. You have one from the day you arrive. You do not pick it. Demographics pick it for you on arrival. The only real choice you have is how you conduct yourself inside it. ## The exchange — What you get, what you owe What you get: - Information: who to avoid, how the unit works, which officer cares about what; - starter supplies before your first commissary (the prison store); - a default position if something goes wrong, without having to earn it; - and somebody to ask, which in the first month is worth more than any of the rest. What you owe: - Conduct that does not embarrass them; - your share of unit chores and cleaning rotations; - showing up when something is expected of you; - and paying what you owe, on time, without being reminded. ## Who runs it — The driver Most cars have someone who runs things, called the rep (the guy who speaks for a car). They mediate internal disputes, handle business with other cars, and are who staff-adjacent problems get routed through. **You do not need a relationship with them. You need to know who they are and not create work for them.** They understand their role, and you must understand theirs. They may not like you, but they will still back you. If you have problems, go to your rep. ## Why it holds — Collective consequence This is the concept that explains everything else. What you do lands on your car, not just on you. If you run up a debt you cannot pay, your car hears about it before you are approached. If you cause a problem with another group, your car absorbs it. So if you create a problem, it's your own people who beat the shit out of you. Keeping it in the family protects the whole yard, because nothing has to pop off between groups. That is why they vet you on day one, and it is why the structure holds. Everyone has an interest in everyone else being unremarkable. ## The correction — What a car is not Cars are not gangs. There is overlap in some places, but the car itself is closer to an administrative unit: a mutual-aid arrangement with rules. Most of what it does is boring: chores, intake, dispute resolution, and making sure the television schedule does not turn into an incident. ## The surprise — The part people do not expect You can be friendly with anyone. Cars govern business, not conversation. You will end up genuinely close with people who have nothing in common with you: different backgrounds, different offenses, different everything. Some of the best conversations you will have in your life happen in here, with people you would never have met and will never see again. That is not a sentimental observation. It is just what happens when you take a cross-section of the country and give it unlimited time to talk. Fork: how tightly cars operate, how quickly you are approached, and how much is expected of you varies significantly by security level. At a low, all of it is tighter. [Cars at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-cars-work-at-a-low) covers the difference. ### [The unwritten rules](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/unwritten-rules) None of these are posted anywhere. All of them are enforced. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/unwritten-rules # The unwritten rules None of these are posted anywhere. All of them are enforced. ## The absolute one — Property Do not touch anything that is not yours. Not to move it, not to borrow it, not to look at it. This is the closest thing to an absolute rule in the building, and violating it accidentally is the most common way a new person creates a problem. If something of yours is in someone's way, they will tell you. Do the same. ## Territory — Space Do not sit on another person's bunk. Do not stand in their area. Do not lean on their locker while you are talking to them. ## Shared equipment — The television, the microwave, the phone, the laundry Televisions are governed, by schedule, by informal claim, or by whoever has established rights to certain programming. Ask before you touch one. Sports schedules in particular are settled well in advance. The microwave, the phone, and the laundry all run on turns. Take yours, do not exceed it, do not leave your property sitting in the machine, and do not remove someone else's to make room for yours. Clean the microwave when you are done. Phones especially: do not hover near someone who is on a call, and end yours when your time is up rather than when your conversation is. Lines: do not cut, and do not hold a place for somebody who is not standing there. ## Hygiene — Showers, and cleanliness as an obligation Showers: wear shoes, do not linger, and do not look at anyone. Units are inspected, and the results affect everyone, often determining which unit goes to chow (the cafeteria) and commissary (the prison store) first, which is the only thing that guarantees the stock has not run out. Your area is not a personal matter. Treat it accordingly. ## Conversation — What not to ask - The details of someone's case beyond what they volunteer; - whether anyone cooperated, ever, under any circumstances; - how much time someone has left, if they have a lot; - and anything about anyone's family situation. ## The other half — What not to volunteer **Your money.** Not what you had, not what you have, not what is coming to you, not what your restitution number is. The population comes overwhelmingly from people who had very little on the outside. Discussing your finances is the fastest way to become a target for a debt arrangement, a loan request, or resentment that has nowhere useful to go. A sentence beginning with the words "we kept trying to make more" has no good ending in here. ### [Debt](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people) Debt causes more problems than anything else in this guide. There is no cash in here, so almost everything you do economically creates one, and new arrivals walk into that without recognizing it. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people # Debt Debt causes more problems than anything else in this guide. There is no cash in here, so almost everything you do economically creates one, and new arrivals walk into that without recognizing it. ## The mechanics — Stamps or commissary There is no cash. Nearly every transaction is either an exchange of stamps (the inmate currency) or a promise to pay on a future commissary day (going to the store). That means almost everything you do economically creates a short-term debt, and the interest has the potential to be high. ## The rule — Pay when you said you would pay That is the whole rule, and it is not really about the money. A small unpaid debt escalates far out of proportion to its size, because what is actually in question is whether your word is good. The amount is beside the point. Once you are someone whose word is not good, every subsequent interaction gets harder. ## In practice — Practical guidance Cheat sheet - **Do not borrow anything in your first month** beyond your car (your social group inside)'s intake supplies. - **Do not lend** to anyone you do not know well. - **Do not accept unsolicited gifts** from people outside your car. A gift that later turns out to have been a loan is a standard play, and it is run on new arrivals specifically. - **Do not gamble anything you cannot cover** , which in practice means do not gamble during football season until you have been there long enough to understand the stakes. - **If you are going to be short, say so before the payment is due** , not after. That last one matters more than people realize. Coming to someone in advance is a normal conversation. Being found short after the fact is a different conversation entirely. Where the credit actually comes from (stores, rates, and what things cost) is covered in [the economy](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles). ### [Information and trust](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-not-to-say) Assume that nothing you say stays where you said it. That is not paranoia. It is a structural feature of a place where several hundred bored people have nothing to trade but information. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-not-to-say # Information and trust Assume that nothing you say stays where you said it. That is not paranoia. It is a structural feature of a place where several hundred bored people have nothing to trade but information. ## The mechanism — The telephone game The telephone game is played constantly in prison and it is played badly. Information moves fast, arrives distorted, and gains detail as it travels. Something you said quietly to one person in January will come back to you in March as something you did not say, attributed to a conversation you do not remember having. This is not paranoia and it is not unique to any one facility. It is a structural feature of a place where several hundred bored people have nothing to trade but information. ## Off the table — What never gets discussed - Cooperation: yours, anyone else's, or as an abstract topic; - the specifics of anyone's case, including your own beyond the basics; - your finances or your family's; - anything you would not want repeated to the person it is about; - and anything you would not want a staff member to hear. ## On paper — Written material is not private Electronic messages (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored) are monitored and stored. Mail is inspected. Phone calls are recorded. And anything sitting in your locker (letters, notes, a journal) can be read during a shakedown and will be if it looks interesting. If you keep a journal, write it knowing someone will eventually read it. Most people who get into trouble over written material did not think anyone was paying attention. ## The part people skip — Do not repeat things either Carrying news is a losing position. Whoever delivers a piece of information becomes the person associated with it, and if it turns out to be wrong (and much of it is wrong) that lands on the carrier, not on whoever made it up three tiers back. **Being known as someone who does not repeat things is one of the very few durable reputations worth having** , and it is built entirely by saying nothing on a large number of occasions. ### [Working with staff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff) Start from one assumption and most of this follows: staff will do the minimum required of them, and when they do not, there is no meaningful recourse. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff # Working with staff Start from one assumption and most of this follows: staff will do the minimum required of them, and when they do not, there is no meaningful recourse. ## The premise — The operating condition That is not a complaint and it is not cynicism. It is the operating condition. Nothing happens because it ought to happen. Things happen because someone asked, and then asked again, and wrote down when they asked. ## Discretion — Why the rules are applied literally Bureau employees are not paid to exercise judgment, and exercising it is a risk they carry personally. If someone bends a rule for you and it goes badly, that is on them. If they apply it rigidly and you are inconvenienced, that is on nobody. So discretion runs one direction: toward no. The person in front of you usually is not being obstinate. They are declining to be the person who authorized an exception. The practical consequence is that you should never frame a request as an exception. Frame it as the ordinary application of an existing rule. "Can you make an allowance for me?"A question with one answer. "The policy says this is done at this point, and I am at that point."A different conversation. ## Correctional officers The officers (a uniformed guard) who work your housing unit are, for the most part, reasonable people being paid to supervise adults. It is a job, not a calling, and most of them would prefer an uneventful shift. The rules for dealing with them are simple. Respect them and they will generally respect you. There are two reliable ways to get on the wrong side of an officer, and neither is the one people expect: - Making their job harder than it needs to be; - and being an obvious kiss-ass, which reads as an angle and is noticed by everyone. Most officers have one or two specific things they care about. One wants the unit quiet during count (the daily headcount where everything stops). One cares about where you are standing when the doors open. One cares about laundry, or the microwave, or the television volume. These are idiosyncratic and mostly unwritten. Learn them and follow them. It costs you nothing and it buys the only thing worth having here: being remembered as someone who is not a problem. That reputation pays out in small discretionary ways, and small discretion is the only kind an officer has. It is not a friendship and you should not mistake it for one. Officers cannot help you with your sentence, your release date, your programming, or your case. Asking them to marks you as someone who does not understand how the building works. ## Who else is watching — There is a second audience Every interaction you have with an officer is being watched by people who are not the officer, and they are reading it differently than you are. Being visibly friendly with staff (long conversations, private ones, the same officer repeatedly) reads as informing. That suspicion does not require any evidence to take hold, it travels faster than any correction, and it is very hard to walk back once it exists. So adopt one practice from your first week: when you need to talk to staff about anything beyond a passing exchange, bring someone from your car (your social group inside) with you. The reason is not protection. It is a witness. A person who was standing there and can say what was and was not discussed. It costs nothing, it is entirely ordinary, and it forecloses a problem that is far easier to prevent than to repair. **Be pleasant with officers. Be brief. Do it in the open.** ## The unit team — What a unit team is Your unit team is the small group of staff assigned to your housing unit who manage your case. Knowing who does what will save you an enormous amount of wasted frustration, because most anger inside comes from asking the wrong person for something they were never able to give you. - **Case manager.** Your record, your sentence computation, release planning, halfway house (the halfway house before release) and home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring) referrals, transfers, and your visiting list. The most consequential staff member in the building for you. - **Correctional counselor.** Day-to-day unit administration. Job assignments, forms, phone and contact lists, commissary (the prison store) problems, general questions. - **Unit manager.** Supervises both. Your first escalation point when the direct ask has actually failed. You will meet with them at a scheduled program review, commonly called team. It happens on a regular cycle, more frequently as you get closer to release. It is where your progress is reviewed and where decisions get recorded. ## The ask — Working your case manager **Your case manager will not do anything you have not asked for.** This is the single most important sentence in this section. It is rarely personal. Caseloads are large, there are no meaningful performance metrics attached to your outcomes, and nothing bad happens to anyone if your paperwork sits for four months. The cost of that delay is borne entirely by you. How to ask, in order of how well it works: - One request at a time, stated in one or two sentences; - in writing, through the inmate request system, so a copy exists; - with the policy reference if you have it; - followed up on a fixed schedule rather than whenever you get anxious; - and never in front of an audience. Do not open with a threat to file a remedy. Filing is a real tool, but using it early spends a relationship you will need for years and gets you categorized as a problem. Escalate to the unit manager only after a direct request has genuinely gone unanswered, and be able to say when you asked and what you were told. Have the person outside call the unit team as well. Two points of pressure on the same request work better than either alone, and a call from outside creates a small amount of the one thing staff actually respond to, which is visibility. ## The remedy process — What the administrative remedy process is actually for There is a formal grievance process. It begins with an informal resolution attempt, proceeds to a written complaint to the warden, and can be appealed to the regional and central offices. It is slow, and outcomes tilt toward staff. Use it anyway, but use it for the right reason. Its realistic value is not that you win. It is that a dated, written record now exists showing what you asked for and when, and that record is what makes anything later possible. Which is why you keep your own log of dates, names, and what was said. Without it you have an argument. With it you have a file. ## The short version — Four rules Cheat sheet - **Be unremarkable to officers, and be seen being unremarkable.** - **Be specific and persistent with your unit team.** - **Ask the right person, in writing, one thing at a time.** - **Write down what they said and when they said it.** None of this is difficult. It is just relentless, and almost nobody does it, which is precisely why it works. ### [What conflict costs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-a-fight-costs) How fights start varies by where you are. What a fight costs does not, because it is set by policy, and the arithmetic is worth knowing before you are standing in it. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-a-fight-costs # What conflict costs How fights start varies by where you are. What a fight costs does not, because it is set by policy, and the arithmetic is worth knowing before you are standing in it. ## The menu — The sanctions A fight produces an incident report (a disciplinary write-up) (a shot) which goes to a disciplinary hearing. Available sanctions include: - Loss of good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble), which moves your release date directly; - time in the special housing unit (solitary), which is isolation and which is worse than anything you are currently imagining; - loss of programming eligibility, which stops your earned time credits (time off earned through programming) from accruing; - loss of visits, phone, and commissary (the prison store); - a disciplinary transfer, usually to a higher security level, which resets every relationship you have built; - and a reduced or eliminated halfway house (the halfway house before release) recommendation, which is the one nobody thinks about and which is frequently the most expensive of the lot. ## The math — The arithmetic **A fight that lasts twenty seconds can cost months.** Not metaphorically: the good time and the lost credits and the shortened pre-release placement are all countable, and they add up faster than people expect. It also does not matter much who started it. Both parties usually receive shots. Self-defense is a concept that exists on the outside; in a disciplinary hearing it is a mitigating argument at best, and often not even that. Count what the credits are worth in your own case with [the time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator). ## The exit — Stepping back without looking weak The concern people have is that walking away marks you. In practice it does not, provided you use the correct channel. The channel is your car (your social group inside). Leaving the area and letting your driver (an inmate who runs a group) handle it with the other group is not weakness. It is the expected procedure, and it is how the overwhelming majority of disputes actually resolve. Handling something yourself when it should have gone through the car is the thing that causes problems, not the reverse. What you do not do, ever, is involve staff in a dispute with another inmate. There is no version of that which improves your situation. Fork: how fights start varies by security level. At a low, the honest version (causes, the escalation pattern, and the procedure) is in [how conflict actually happens](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-fights-actually-start). ### [The economy](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles) There is a functioning service economy inside every federal facility. It is not hidden. Knowing the going rates is what keeps you from being overcharged, indebted, or embarrassed in your first month. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles # The economy There is a functioning service economy inside every federal facility. It is not hidden. Knowing the going rates is what keeps you from being overcharged, indebted, or embarrassed in your first month. ## The disclaimer — Why this is here Staff know about all of it, and most of it gets tolerated until something else goes wrong. It is in this guide because knowing the going rates is what keeps you from being overcharged, indebted, or embarrassed in your first month. This describes a market you are about to live in. It is not a manual for working in it. ## The money — Currency There is no cash. Three things do the work instead: - **Stamps (the inmate currency).** Books of postage are the standard unit of account for small transactions. A book trades below its face value, and the discount varies by institution. - **Commissary (the prison store) goods.** Shelf-stable food and hygiene items function as currency, particularly for people who are out of stamps. - **Outside transfers.** Anything large is settled between people's outside contacts. This is how significant balances actually move. ## Retail — Stores Someone in every unit runs a store. It is exactly what it sounds like: an inventory of commissary items, sold on credit to people who have run out between commissary days (going to the store). The standard rate is two-for-one. You take one item now and return two on your next commissary. Some stores run three-for-two on larger items. Store operators keep ledgers and treat it as a business, because it is one. Stores exist because commissary access is limited and weekly, and because people misjudge how much coffee they need. This is also the single most common on-ramp to [a debt problem](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people). A two-for-one is a hundred percent interest rate over roughly a week. Compounding that a few times is how someone ends up owing more than their monthly spending limit. ## The market — Services Nearly everything you would pay someone to do on the outside, you can pay someone to do here. - **Haircuts.** Every unit has a barber, some of them genuinely skilled. Cheap, and one of the more universally used services. - **Laundry.** Wash, dry, fold, and return on a schedule. Priced monthly. - **Tailoring and pressing.** Hemming, altering, and ironing creases into your greens. This matters more than an outsider would guess. Appearance is one of the few things people control. - **Cleaning.** Someone will clean your area on a regular schedule. - **Cooking.** People who can cook build elaborate meals out of commissary ingredients, and they are often very good. You supply the ingredients and pay a fee, or you pay for the whole thing. - **Food from the kitchen.** Kitchen work comes with access. Eggs, meat, produce, and seasoning leave the kitchen and get sold on the unit. This is a substantial informal industry and one of the reasons kitchen jobs are sought after. - **Extra trays.** Buying someone's tray at a meal, from people who would rather have the stamps than the food. - **Legal work.** Jailhouse lawyers write motions, administrative remedies, sentence computation challenges, and post-conviction filings. Prices run from trivial for a form to genuinely expensive for a full motion. Quality varies enormously. A few are excellent, most are not, and the confident ones are not reliably the good ones. Anything you file goes out under your name and is your problem. The same warnings apply inside as out: [paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work). - **Phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance).** Monthly phone time is capped, and people who do not use theirs sell the remainder. This is one of the more common transactions in the building, particularly toward the end of the month. - **Cell phone use.** Contraband phones exist and time on them is rented. It is one of the most expensive things available, priced according to risk rather than effort. - **Tobacco.** Federal facilities are smoke-free for inmates, which makes tobacco contraband, which makes it expensive. Prices vary more between institutions than any other item on this list, by a wide margin, and unpredictably. ## Pricing — How prices work Price tracks scarcity and risk, not labor. A haircut is cheap because the barber is not risking anything and there are several of them. Anything contraband is expensive because someone is carrying real exposure, and the price is mostly that exposure being sold to you. Prices also vary substantially between institutions, and the same item can cost several times more at one facility than another. Do not arrive with a fixed number in your head. Local rates (what a book of stamps trades for, what the store marks up) are tracked per facility in [the facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons). ## The downside — What it costs if it goes wrong Running a store, gambling, and bartering are all prohibited acts under the disciplinary code, and all three happen everywhere anyway. Possession of contraband is treated considerably more seriously, and possession of a phone most seriously of all. The standard outcome is a stretch in the special housing unit (solitary), a substantial loss of good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble), and a transfer to a higher security facility. Enforcement is episodic rather than constant. It tends to arrive after something else has already gone wrong. Plenty of people run their whole bid on that assumption, and it is a bad assumption to run on. **You will make your own decisions about all of this. Make them knowing the price, which is the only thing this section is for.** ### [Your time](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-the-days-are-like) The dominant experience of incarceration is not danger. It is boredom, repetition, and waiting on people who are not in a hurry. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-the-days-are-like # Your time The dominant experience of incarceration is not danger. It is boredom, repetition, and waiting on people who are not in a hurry. ## The reality — What the days are made of Most of what you are afraid of right now will not happen. Nearly everything that actually wears on you will be administrative or tedious, and there is a great deal more of it than you expect. ## The structure — Build a routine in the first month **People who structure their days do their time better than people who do not.** This is the most reliable observation in this entire guide and the one most likely to be ignored. A job. Programming, which you want anyway for the credits (time off earned through programming). Exercise on a fixed schedule. Reading with some purpose to it rather than whatever is lying around. Something you are learning that has an end state. The specific content matters much less than the fact that the day has a shape. ## The warning signs — Watch for the drop Depression inside does not usually announce itself. It looks like sleeping through the afternoon, then through the morning. Skipping commissary (the prison store). Not going to rec (recreation time). Letting mail sit unanswered for a week, then two. Telling people not to come for visits because the drive is long. Every one of those has a reasonable-sounding explanation, which is exactly the problem. Notice the pattern rather than the individual excuses, in yourself and in the people around you. ## The crash — The visit cycle Visits are the best hours you will have and the crash afterward is real. The same is true of good mail and good phone calls. Everyone experiences it, almost nobody mentions it, and knowing it is coming takes most of the sting out. Do not stop taking visits to avoid the crash. That trade looks rational and is not. ## The calendar — Do not count days People who track the number are miserable. The standard formulation is that the days are long and the years are short, and it is accurate. Work in program cycles, seasons, or team meetings, and let the arithmetic take care of itself. ## The erosion — What it does to you A year of not choosing what to eat, when to sleep, or where to stand does something to the part of you that makes decisions. It atrophies, the way anything unused does. The people it happens to are not the people who expected it. It is generally the ones who were most certain it would not. What it looks like: deferring choices you could make, waiting to be told, letting outside relationships lapse because maintaining them takes effort and the effort feels pointless, and gradually finding the institution's rhythm more comfortable than the alternative. ## The counterweight — What helps Cheat sheet - **Keep making decisions** , even trivial ones, deliberately. - **Maintain your outside relationships actively** , especially when it hurts to hear what you are missing. - **Stay current with what is happening at home** rather than tuning it out. - **Keep a project with an end state** , and finish it. - **Plan for release from early on** , not from the last six months. **The time passes either way. What varies is who walks out.** ### [Doing time at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison) If you are headed to a low security FCI, this is where the general rules get specific: the fence, the schedule, the coexistence question, and how conflict actually happens there. You cannot bring this with you. What you can bring is the shape of it: be unremarkable, pay what you owe, touch nothing that is not yours, and say less than you know. Read it again before you report. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Inside%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide # For those on the outside This is written for the person on the outside: the wife, husband, parent, or adult child who is now responsible for a great deal more than they were last year. It is not a translation of [the guides written for them](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report). Your problems are different from theirs, they last longer, and almost nobody addresses them at all. Twelve parts. Read them in order if you have time, or jump straight to your situation below. ## Read this first — Start with this The Bureau of Prisons will not proactively tell you anything. Not when your person moves, not when the release date changes, not when something goes wrong. Every piece of information you get, you will have gone and found. That is the operating condition for the next several years. Once you accept it, most of this guide is just method. ## Find your situation - They have not been sentenced yet, or have been sentenced and are waiting to report: start at [Before they go](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-you-need-before-they-report); - they just reported and you have not heard from them: go to [The first two weeks](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/the-first-two-weeks-of-silence); - your letter came back and you do not know why: go to [Mail](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-mail-works); - you are trying to get approved to visit: go to [Visiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-a-visit-is-like); - you do not understand their release date: go to [The release date](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-the-release-date-is-calculated); - something is wrong and nobody will talk to you: go to [When something goes wrong](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/medical-transfers-and-a-death-in-the-family); - and if they are coming home within the year, go to [Coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/when-they-come-home). ## Two notes on scope This comes from experience at a men's facility. Women's facilities differ in ways I am not qualified to write about and will not guess at. More importantly: local rules vary enormously between institutions. Page limits, dress codes, visiting schedules, and property rules are set at the facility level and they change. Every institution publishes an admission and orientation handbook (your disorienting first days of intake), and that handbook governs over anything written here. Find it, read it, and keep it. ## The four habits that matter most If you read nothing else: Cheat sheet - **Assume the Bureau tells you nothing.** Every piece of information you get, you will have gone and found. - **Their committed name and register number, exactly right, on everything.** Most mail and money problems are this. - **The date on the locator is not the date they come home.** The halfway house date is, and somebody has to push for it. - **Keep a log.** Date, name, title, what was said. It is the difference between having an argument and having a file. ## The twelve parts ### [Before they go](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-you-need-before-they-report) The handoff document, the papers you need in your own hands, and the three ways not to panic, if you can help it. ### [The first two weeks](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/the-first-two-weeks-of-silence) Why the silence is unfortunately normal, the four useful things to do during it, and the one call not to make. ### [Mail](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-mail-works) Nobody in the mailroom is paid to give you the benefit of the doubt. Addressing, the rejection list, children's stuff, and books. ### [Visiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-a-visit-is-like) Approval takes weeks., and comes with a questionnaire, a points system, a private school-like dress code, and emotions. ### [Money](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/where-the-money-goes) How to send it, how soon it hits, what it gets spent on, and why sending more can increase what gets taken out. ### [Phone and messages](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-calls-and-messages-work) They call you and a meter runs, and no more privacy. Call limits, the messaging system, and the multiple-number problem. ### [The release date](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-the-release-date-is-calculated) Good conduct time, earned credits, and why the date on the website is not the date they are out and why. ### [The halfway house push](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/pushing-for-halfway-house-time) Nothing happens unless someone makes it happen. The referral window, the policy to cite, and the calls you can make. ### [Working the system](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/getting-answers-out-of-the-bop) Who to call, when, in what order, how to say things two sentences; congressional caseworkers, and the log files. ### [When something goes wrong](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/medical-transfers-and-a-death-in-the-family) What to do when medical care is not happening, what sudden silence means, transfers, and a death in the family. ### [Your life](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/who-you-tell-and-how-you-hold-up) Who you tell and how, the children, the crash after good visits, and where the useful information actually is. ### [Coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/when-they-come-home) The halfway house, home confinement, the conditions that constrain the whole household, and the renegotiation. ## If you don't have the time or energy ### [The checklists](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist) Organized in stages and ranked by what getting them wrong costs: before they go, while they're in, and as they come home. ### [The family FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq) The questions that matter most, answered one at a time: mail, visiting, money, their release date, the kids, and the part about you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-you-need-before-they-report # Before they go Most of this period belongs to them, and the companion guide covers it. Your part is narrower and easy to miss. ## Get the handoff document They should be writing you a document that covers accounts, passwords, deadlines, contacts, and what you are authorized to decide without asking them. If they have not started it, make them start it. If they say they will do it later, understand that later means the week before they report, badly. Read it while they are still here and can answer questions. The gaps you find now are the ones you will otherwise be discovering alone in eight months. What goes in it, from their side of the table: [the waiting-for-designation section](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/waiting-for-designation) of the guide written for them. ## The papers — What you need in your own hands - Power of attorney, executed; - a copy of their presentence report (the report that follows you the whole sentence), because they are not permitted to keep one inside and you may need to quote from it; - their judgment and commitment order; - account access that actually works, tested by you, not described to you; - and their full committed name exactly as it appears on the judgment, which is the name you will use on everything. ## Restraint — Do not Do not liquidate things in a panic. Do not [pay a consultant who promises a specific facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). Nobody can deliver that. Do not post about the case publicly. ### [The first two weeks](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/the-first-two-weeks-of-silence) They reported, and then nothing. This is the part that frightens people most and it is almost always ordinary. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/the-first-two-weeks-of-silence # The first two weeks They reported, and then nothing. This is the part that frightens people most and it is almost always ordinary. ## The silence — Why you have not heard from them Expect several days before you hear from them. They arrive with no phone account, no contact list, and no messaging access, and setting all of that up depends on staff who are not in a hurry. A week is normal. Longer is common. ## Meanwhile — What you can do while you wait - Find them on the Bureau's inmate locator, which will confirm their facility and register number; - write down that register number, because nothing works without it; - send a letter, even though it will sit for a while: mail waiting for them when access opens up matters more than you would think; - and [send a small amount of money](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/where-the-money-goes) so it is there when their account activates. Once you know the facility, [its page here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) covers what that particular place is like. ## One warning — The call not to make Do not call the institution during this period asking whether they are all right. You will not get an answer, and it is the one call that reliably annoys people you will need later. ### [Mail](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-mail-works) Mail is the highest-volume source of frustration for families, entirely because the rules are rigid, unposted in places, and enforced without judgment. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-mail-works # Mail Mail is the highest-volume source of frustration for families, entirely because the rules are rigid, unposted in places, and enforced without judgment. ## The incentive — Why it is like this Understand why before you learn the specifics: nobody in the mailroom is paid to decide whether your letter is fine. If they let something through and it turns out to be a problem, that is on them personally. If they reject it and you are upset, that is on nobody. Discretion runs one direction, and it runs toward rejection. **So the goal is not to be reasonable. The goal is to be unrejectable.** ## The envelope — Addressing Every piece of mail needs their committed name, their register number, and the institution's mailing address in the exact format the facility specifies. Missing or wrong register numbers are the most common reason mail never arrives. Your own full name and complete return address must be on the envelope. Incomplete return addresses get rejected. Check whether their facility processes general correspondence centrally or scans incoming mail rather than delivering the original. Both arrangements exist, both change the address you use, and using the old one means it goes nowhere. ## The list — What gets rejected - Stickers of any kind, including return address labels and decorative seals; - anything with glitter, glue, tape, or attached embellishment; - musical or oversized greeting cards, and cards with padding or layers; - lipstick marks, perfume, or anything applied to the paper; - crayon, marker, or heavy ink in some facilities; - water damage or staining; - blank paper, blank envelopes, or postage stamps enclosed; - cash, personal checks, or gift cards; - Polaroid photographs, because of what can be concealed in the backing; - photographs beyond the per-envelope limit, or that are sexually explicit, or that show anything resembling gang signs; - and anything over the page limit. Page limits exist nearly everywhere and vary by institution. Confirm yours and stay under it. ## The hard one — Children's artwork This is the one that hurts. Drawings in crayon, anything with glued-on material, and anything glittered will come back. Have them draw in pencil or pen on plain paper and you will usually be fine. ## Reading material — Books, magazines, and newspapers These generally must arrive directly from a publisher or an approved retailer. You cannot mail them a book you already own, and you cannot mail them one you bought at a store. Order it and have it shipped. ## When it bounces — Rejection Rejected mail is usually returned to you, sometimes with a notice explaining why and sometimes without. They may never know it existed. If letters stop arriving and you do not know why, that is worth a call to the unit team (the staff who run your daily life), but check your envelope against the list above first, because it is nearly always something on it. ## The exception — Legal mail Correspondence from their attorney has special handling and is opened in their presence rather than in the mailroom. It has to be marked correctly to receive that treatment, which is the lawyer's responsibility, not yours. The correspondence rules, annotated: [Program Statement 5265.14](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-14-correspondence). ### [Visiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-a-visit-is-like) Visits are the best thing you can give your person and the process for arranging them is deliberately slow. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-a-visit-is-like # Visiting Visits are the best thing you can give your person and the process for arranging them is deliberately slow. ## The list — Getting approved They initiate it. They submit your name to their case manager (the staffer who controls your release date), the institution sends a visitor questionnaire, you complete it and return it, and then a background check runs. Complete it accurately and completely. Omissions read as concealment and are the usual reason for denial. A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you, but it complicates approval, and prior incarceration generally requires additional authorization. Expect weeks. Sometimes longer. Starting this after they arrive rather than before is the reason many families lose their first few months of visits. ## The calendar — Scheduling Visits are allocated by a points system, with weekend days typically costing more than weekdays. Some facilities require advance scheduling and some do not. Both the schedule and the allocation are facility-specific. ## The door — Dress code This is where people are turned away at the door after driving six hours, and it is entirely preventable. Do not wear anything that resembles what inmates or staff wear. Khaki, olive, and grey are commonly prohibited outright. Avoid denim at facilities that restrict it. No revealing clothing of any kind, which is interpreted conservatively: no sheer fabric, no low necklines, no short skirts, no leggings as pants, no sleeveless tops. No hats. Closed-toe shoes. Underwire bras set off metal detectors and have ended visits before they started. Wear something else. **When in doubt, dress like you are appearing in court in front of a judge who dislikes you.** ## Your pockets — What you can bring in Almost nothing. Identification, your car key, and a limited amount of money for vending machines, usually in coins or a clear container. Everything else goes in a locker outside. Phones stay in the car. ## The rules inside — Physical contact A brief embrace and kiss at the beginning and end of the visit. Hand-holding above the table during, at most facilities. Seating is assigned and you do not move it. Officers will end a visit over contact violations, and they will not warn you twice. ## The kids — Children They have to be on the approved list like anyone else, and a birth certificate is often required. They must stay with you. Some visiting rooms have a children's area and some do not. Bring a child if the child wants to come. Do not bring a child to make them feel better. ## The room — The visit itself The first one is harder than either of you expects. They will look different. The room is loud, fluorescent, and full of other families having the same conversation. Neither of you will say what you planned to say. It gets substantially easier the second time. The visiting rules, annotated: [Program Statement 5267.09](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5267-09-visiting-regulations). When visiting is suspended at their facility, [the alert service](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) emails you before you drive. ### [Money](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/where-the-money-goes) Getting money to them is the easy half. What it gets spent on, and what gets taken out before they see it, is the half nobody explains. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/where-the-money-goes # Money Getting money to them is the easy half. What it gets spent on, and what gets taken out before they see it, is the half nobody explains. ## The channels — Getting it to them Three channels, each with different timing and cost: - **By mail** to the Bureau's national lockbox, using a money order or cashier's check. Slowest, cheapest, and the addressing format must be exact. - **MoneyGram** , which is faster and carries a fee. - **Western Union** , similar. Every one of them requires their committed name and register number, exactly right. Funds sent with an error do not bounce back quickly; they sit. **Do a small test deposit before you need it to work.** ## The ledger — What it gets spent on Commissary (the prison store) spending is capped monthly, and the cap is set by policy rather than by how much you send. Beyond food and hygiene, their account (your prison bank account) also pays for phone time and electronic messaging. _Verify the current cap and current messaging rates against the facility handbook. These figures move._ ## The deduction — Restitution comes out first If they owe restitution or a fine, the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program takes payments from their account on a schedule that is periodically recalculated based on how much money comes in. That has a consequence worth understanding: **sending more can increase what gets taken.** Money you send is not entirely theirs, and the arithmetic is not intuitive. Ask them what their current payment schedule is before making a large deposit. ## The amount — How much Enough for commissary, phone, and messaging, plus some margin. They will tell you if it is not enough. They are much less likely to tell you if they are going without. ## The other ledger — Your side of it The household is now running on one income, possibly with legal debt attached. Look at what benefits you may qualify for, and look early rather than after savings are gone. This is not a failure, and a great many families in this situation do not check until it is too late to help. The deposit and account rules, annotated: [Program Statement 4500.13](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4500-13-trust-fund-deposit-fund-manual). ### [Phone and messages](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-calls-and-messages-work) They call you. You cannot call them. Ever, for any reason. Start there and the rest of the system makes a kind of sense. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-calls-and-messages-work # Phone and messages They call you. You cannot call them. Ever, for any reason. Start there and the rest of the system makes a kind of sense. ## The phone — Calls They call you. You cannot call them. Ever, for any reason, including emergencies. There is a separate process for those, covered in [when something goes wrong](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/medical-transfers-and-a-death-in-the-family). Their monthly phone time (your monthly phone allowance) is capped and individual calls cut off automatically at a fixed length. Do not spend the first four minutes on logistics. When the call connects, an automated system requires you to press a key to accept. Some virtual phone services do not pass that keypress through correctly, and Google Voice is the common failure. If their calls to you keep dropping at the start, that is why. **Test any number before relying on it.** All calls are recorded and monitored. ## The meter — Electronic messages The system (TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored) on their side, CorrLinks (the app families use to message inside) on yours) is inmate-initiated. They add your email address, you receive an invitation, and you accept it before anything can be exchanged. Messages are delayed in both directions while they are reviewed, typically a couple of hours, sometimes longer. They are charged by the minute for the time they spend reading and writing, which is why their replies may be shorter than you would like. That is not indifference. It is a meter running. There are no attachments and no photos through this system. ## The audience — Write knowing it is read Everything is monitored, stored, and available to be quoted later. Do not discuss their case, anyone else's case, money arrangements, or anything you would not want read aloud. This constrains the conversation in ways that are genuinely painful over time. It is still the rule. The messaging rules, annotated: [Program Statement 5265.13](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging). ### [The release date](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-the-release-date-is-calculated) You are the one who can look things up. They cannot. That makes this your job, not theirs. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-the-release-date-is-calculated # The release date You are the one who can look things up. They cannot. That makes this your job, not theirs. ## The math — Where the number comes from Three things reduce their time and they stack: - Good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble), at 54 days per year of the sentence imposed; - earned time credits (time off earned through programming) under the First Step Act, at 10 days for every 30 days of successful programming, rising to 15 for every 30 if they are assessed as minimum or low risk on two consecutive assessments; - and pre-release placement: time served in a halfway house (the halfway house before release) or on home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring) rather than in the facility. Earned credits applied toward early release to supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole) are capped at 365 days. Credits past that cap are not lost; they are supposed to go toward pre-release custody instead. That last sentence is the reason [the next section](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/pushing-for-halfway-house-time) exists. Run their math yourself: [the time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) and [the PATTERN calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator). ## The catch — The number on the website is not the answer The inmate locator shows a projected release date. It does not show their halfway house date, which is the date that actually determines when they come home to you, and which can differ by many months. **Ask them for a copy of their sentence computation and keep it.** Errors happen and nobody audits them. ### [The halfway house push](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/pushing-for-halfway-house-time) This is the section that changes outcomes. If you read one part of this guide, read this one. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/pushing-for-halfway-house-time # The halfway house push This is the section that changes outcomes. If you read one part of this guide, read this one. ## The policy — What is supposed to happen Policy contemplates that their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) makes a pre-release placement referral roughly seventeen to nineteen months before their projected release date, at a scheduled program review, with the warden signing off. Statute permits up to twelve months in a halfway house (the halfway house before release), and separately permits home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring) for the shorter of ten percent of the term or six months. Program Statement 7310.04, Community Corrections Center Utilization and Transfer Procedure. ## The reality — What actually happens Nothing happens unless someone makes it happen. Caseloads are large, there is no performance measure attached to this, and no consequence for a late referral falls on anyone but them. If their sentence is short, that window may open almost as soon as they arrive, which means the conversation has to start at their first team meeting rather than a year in. ## Your half — What you do - Know their projected release date and count backward to when the referral window opens; - make sure they raise it at their first team meeting and every one after; - call the case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) yourself and ask, politely and specifically, when the referral is scheduled and what length is being recommended; - ask for the name and title of whoever you speak to, and write down the date; - and follow up on a schedule rather than when you get anxious. **Two points of pressure work better than one.** A call from outside creates the one thing staff reliably respond to, which is the sense that someone is paying attention. Push without being hostile. Your person is the one who lives there, and a family member who screams at a case manager creates a problem that lands on them, not on you. Their half of the push is covered in [what to carry in your head](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/what-to-memorize). Make sure they have read it. ### [Working the system](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/getting-answers-out-of-the-bop) The Bureau responds to specific questions, politely asked, by people who write things down. Everything in this section is a version of that sentence. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/getting-answers-out-of-the-bop # Working the system The Bureau responds to specific questions, politely asked, by people who write things down. Everything in this section is a version of that sentence. ## The ladder — Who to call, in order - Their correctional counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs), for day-to-day unit questions; - their case manager (the staffer who controls your release date), for anything involving their record, release, transfers, or visiting; - the unit manager (the boss of your housing unit), when the case manager has genuinely not responded; - the warden's office, sparingly; - and the regional office, more sparingly still. Call the institution's main number and ask to be transferred to the unit. You will often get voicemail. Leave one message, not four. Who these people are, from their side of the counter: [working with staff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff). ## The script — How to be effective on the phone - One issue per call; - state it in two sentences; - cite the policy if you have it, by number; - ask for a specific action and a date; - get the person's name and title; - and thank them, because the next call is easier when the last one was pleasant. Do not threaten litigation, do not invoke a lawyer you have not retained, and do not call daily. All three convert you from a person with a question into a problem to be managed. The policies families most often end up citing are [annotated here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements), by number. ## The lever — Congressional constituent services Your representative's and senators' offices have caseworkers whose job is helping constituents with federal agencies, including the Bureau of Prisons. It is free, it is routine, and most families never think of it. It works best on concrete, documentable problems. A referral that has not happened, medical care that has not been provided, a computation that appears wrong. It does not work on general unhappiness. You will need a signed privacy release from them for them to act. ## The habit — Keep a log Date, who you spoke to, their title, what you asked, what they said, and what they committed to. **It takes two minutes per call. It is the difference between having an argument and having a file, and it is the single most useful habit in this guide.** ### [When something goes wrong](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/medical-transfers-and-a-death-in-the-family) Calls stop, letters come back, and nobody will tell you anything. Most of the time it is ordinary. Here is how to tell, and what to do when it is not. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/medical-transfers-and-a-death-in-the-family # When something goes wrong Calls stop, letters come back, and nobody will tell you anything. Most of the time it is ordinary. Here is how to tell, and what to do when it is not. ## Health — Medical This is where families feel most helpless, and there is more you can do than you think. They request care by submitting a sick call request. If that is not producing results, ask for the Health Services Administrator by name and title. Above that sits the Clinical Director, then the warden, then the regional health services administrator. Document everything: when they first reported symptoms, when they submitted requests, what they were told, what medication they are or are not receiving. **Dates and specifics move things. General concern does not.** For a genuine emergency, call the institution and ask for the Captain or the Operations Lieutenant (a shift supervisor above the guards). ## Gone quiet — The sudden silence If calls, messages, and mail stop without warning, the most common explanations are a disciplinary placement in the special housing unit (solitary), a facility-wide lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped), or a transfer in progress. The locator will eventually reflect a transfer. For the others, call the unit team. You may be told very little. That is normal and does not mean the worst. A facility support group will have someone who can ask their loved one (the inmate, referred to by their people on the outside) to report back on your loved one's status. Lockdowns are tracked here: [each facility's page](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) shows current operations, and [the alert service](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) emails you when their facility locks down and when it comes back. ## Moved — Transfers They can be moved with essentially no notice, to a facility far from you, for reasons that will not be explained. Their property may take weeks to catch up. Your visiting approval does not automatically transfer and may need to be redone. ## The hardest call — A death in the family Notify the institution through the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news), who is the correct route and who handles this well. Furloughs (a rare temporary authorized absence) for funerals exist but are rarely granted; escorted trips are possible in limited circumstances and generally at family expense. Tell them yourself, on a call, if you possibly can. Finding out through official channels is worse. ### [Your life](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/who-you-tell-and-how-you-hold-up) The guides written for them are about surviving a defined period. Yours is not defined and nobody is checking on you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/who-you-tell-and-how-you-hold-up # Your life The guides written for them are about surviving a defined period. Yours is not defined and nobody is checking on you. ## The circle — Who you tell You will discover quickly that this information changes how people treat you, and that some relationships do not survive it. You are allowed to decide who gets to know. You are not obligated to explain your family's situation to anyone. The isolation is the hardest part for most families, harder than the money, and it compounds because the natural response is to withdraw further. ## The kids — Children Age-appropriate honesty holds up better than a cover story, mostly because cover stories collapse and the collapse is worse than the truth would have been. School counselors can be a real support and are generally discreet. Children of incarcerated parents are a recognized population with actual resources attached, and you are not the first family in your district. Let the child decide about visits. Some want to go every time. Some cannot handle it. Both are fine. ## The crash — The whiplash Good visits and good calls are followed by a hard crash, for both of you. This is universal and nearly nobody mentions it, which leaves people thinking there is something wrong with them. Plan something for after a visit. Do not drive six hours home alone with it if you can avoid it. ## The grapevine — Where to get information Facility-specific family groups on social media are genuinely useful for logistics. What the mailroom is rejecting this month, how long visiting approval is taking, what the visiting room is actually like. They are also full of people selling consulting services and people repeating things that are not true. Take the logistics, verify anything that matters against the handbook, and ignore the sales. A vetted starting point: [the support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). ### [Coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/when-they-come-home) People expect the last stretch to be the easy part. It is frequently the hardest. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/when-they-come-home # Coming home People expect the last stretch to be the easy part. It is frequently the hardest. ## Almost — The halfway house People expect this to be the easy part. It is frequently the hardest. They will live under rules that are stricter in some ways than the institution: sign-in and sign-out, curfews, passes that must be approved in advance, mandatory employment, drug testing, and a subsistence payment taken as a percentage of their gross income. Violations in the last stretch are common, because the rules are petty and they are nearly free. A halfway house (the halfway house before release) violation can send them back. **This is worth saying out loud to them before it starts.** ## Closer — Home confinement Ankle monitor (the GPS device for home confinement), an approved schedule, and permission required for essentially any movement. Everyone in the household lives inside that schedule too, and the friction is real. It is also enormously better than the alternative. ## The fine print — Conditions that constrain you Supervised release conditions (the rules you live under after release) restrict the household, not just them. Depending on the case, that can include monitoring software on devices in the home, restrictions on who may be present, limits on travel, and a prohibition on firearms in the residence. Find out what their conditions actually say before they come home rather than after. Some are modifiable through their probation officer (who supervises you after release) or the court, and it is easier to raise before a violation (breaking a release rule; can send you back) than after. ## The record — Work and the internet The conviction is searchable and the coverage does not get updated when the facts change. This is a durable problem and it is worth planning for rather than discovering. ## The reunion — The two of you They have spent a long time in a place that rewarded not making decisions, and they have changed in ways they cannot see. You have run a household alone and changed in ways they were not present for. Both of those are real, and the reunion is rarely the one either of you rehearsed. Expect a period of renegotiation rather than a return to how things were. Counseling helps more than people expect, and it is easier to start before the friction than after. ## That's the guide — Nobody is going to walk you through this But you now know more than most families learn in the first year. Keep the log, verify everything that matters against the handbook, and ask when something does not fit. Answers are free. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison # Doing time at a low [The companion guides](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like) cover what holds across the federal system. This one covers what is specific to a low security federal correctional institution. How you get sorted, how tight things are, how conflict actually happens, and what the economy looks like. This is the guide I can write with the most confidence, because it is where I did my time. Thirteen parts, written to be read in order. The rest of this page is the front matter: what this covers, and one thing to know before part one. ## The frame — Scope Men's low security. Eighteen months, first-hand. Lows vary more than people expect. Some are calm and loosely run. Some lock down at the slightest provocation. Mine was among the worst-run institutions in the system, which gave me a useful baseline but also means my normal may be harsher than yours. Where something is specific to a badly-run facility rather than to lows generally, it is marked. This guide assumes you have read [While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like), which covers everything that holds everywhere: the role, debt, information, the unwritten rules. This one only covers what a low changes. ## A note about race The population sorts into groups (cars (your social group inside)) organized largely along racial lines and then by region. This is more pronounced and more enforced at a low than at a camp. I am describing a structure. I did not build it and I do not defend it. It is here because someone who arrives without knowing it misreads their first conversation and makes mistakes in week one that follow them for years. That is the only reason. ## The four things that matter most If you read nothing else: Cheat sheet - **Plan around the fence.** Movement is scheduled, not open. Anything you need, you arrange in advance or not at all. - **Answer the paperwork question plainly.** Name the offense, briefly. Vagueness is the only wrong answer. - **Route disputes through your car.** Handling something yourself is what causes problems, not the reverse. - **Do not discuss money.** Not what you had, not what you have, not your restitution number. ## The thirteen parts ### [What a low actually is](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/what-a-low-is) The fence, the compound behind it, and a population that surprises people: drug conspiracies, immigration, and almost no white collar. ### [The day](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/daily-schedule) Counts that stop everything, ten-minute movement windows, and why a remarkable portion of your sentence is spent waiting for a number. ### [Where you live](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/cells-and-cubicles) Cells at some lows, open dorm cubes at others. The bunk, the locker, the property cap, and the small set of rules that make a cellmate work. ### [Your first days](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/your-first-days) The intake staff do not conduct: the paperwork conversation, what people will assume about you, and what to say about your case afterward. ### [Cars at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-cars-work-at-a-low) What your car actually does, who the driver is, why your conduct lands on the group, and why none of it governs who you can be friends with. ### [Coexistence](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/sex-offenders-on-the-compound) A large share of a low's population is serving time for sex offenses, and everyone shares the same compound. The rules, and the uncomfortable part. ### [Staff at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/officers-at-a-low) Officers here mostly want a quiet shift. The visibility problem, and why you bring a witness to anything beyond a passing exchange. ### [How conflict actually happens](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-fights-actually-start) Debt, property, the phone, and the television. The slow escalation pattern, what to do when it starts, and what a twenty-second fight costs. ### [Shakedowns, the hole, and lockdowns](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/shakedowns-the-shu-and-lockdowns) Searches with no notice, the special housing unit and what it stops, and the compound closures that vary more by facility than anything else. ### [The economy at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/contraband-phones-and-prices) Ordinary services run at ordinary prices. Everything contraband costs more, because the fence is priced in. Phones, minutes, packs, and tobacco. ### [Jobs and programming](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-a-job-at-a-low) Food service, orderly, maintenance, warehouse, education, UNICOR. Ask early, and do the near-useless classes anyway. They are your credits. ### [Getting to a camp from a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-transferred-to-a-camp) If no public safety factor holds you, clean time can move you down. How the review works, what to push on, and what nobody can sell you. ### [The honest comparison](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/is-a-low-bad) What is worse than a camp, what is better than people expect, and the thing that actually gets you. It is not what the films taught you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/what-a-low-is # What a low actually is A low sits between a camp and a medium: a real fence, a compound behind it, and a population nobody expects. ## The fence — Between a camp and a medium A low security federal correctional institution sits between a camp and a medium. It has a secured perimeter (double fencing, razor wire, electronic detection), and you are inside it. This is the first and largest difference from a camp, where there is no fence and the whole arrangement runs on the understanding that walking away costs you more than staying. Inside the fence, a low is a compound (the physical grounds): housing units, a chow hall (the cafeteria), a recreation yard, education, chapel, medical, and a commissary (the prison store). You move between them on a schedule rather than at will. ## The population — Who is there This is the part that surprises people most. Lows house an enormous mix. Drug conspiracy cases make up a large share, frequently people who carried something across a border for money and received the same sentence as someone who organized it. Firearms cases. Immigration. A substantial population of sex offenses, which is covered in [its own part of this guide](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/sex-offenders-on-the-compound) because it governs a real part of daily conduct. White collar is rare. Less than one percent, in practice. Most people with a financial case and clean history score into a camp, so if you are reading this because you got a low, you are probably here on points that had nothing to do with your offense: age, a detainer (a hold from another jurisdiction), sentence length, or a management decision about your case. You will spend your time with people whose lives bear no resemblance to yours. That turns out to be one of the more valuable things about it. How you got scored into a low in the first place is a designation question, covered in [the before-you-go guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report). ### [The day](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/daily-schedule) The schedule is the architecture of your life here, and it is not negotiable. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/daily-schedule # The day The schedule is the architecture of your life here, and it is not negotiable. ## The number — Counts Counts (the daily headcount where everything stops) happen several times a day, including overnight. The afternoon count is a standing count. You stand at your bunk or in your cell, silent, until the number clears. Everything on the compound stops. If the count does not clear, they recount. A bad count can absorb hours. You will spend a genuinely remarkable portion of your sentence waiting for a number. ## The windows — Controlled movement At most lows you move between buildings during a window at the top of the hour, usually about ten minutes. Outside that window you are where you are supposed to be. This is controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and it is the single biggest adjustment from a camp, where movement is largely open. It means planning: if you need the law library and your work assignment ends at the wrong time, that is a problem you solve in advance or not at all. ## The rhythm — The rest of it Chow three times a day, run by unit or by rotation. Work assignment. Recreation (recreation time) in the afternoon and evening. Commissary once a week on your assigned day. Weekly unit inspections are common, and at many facilities the cleanest unit goes to chow and commissary first. That matters more than it sounds like. Going last regularly means the stock has run out. ### [Where you live](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/cells-and-cubicles) Cells or cubicles, depending on the facility. Either way: a bunk, a locker, one other man, and the question of where your space ends. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/cells-and-cubicles # Where you live Cells or cubicles, depending on the facility. Either way: a bunk, a locker, one other man, and the question of where your space ends. ## The layout — Cells or cubicles Lows run either cells or cubicles, and which one you get depends entirely on the facility. Some were built as higher security institutions and converted, which means actual cells with doors. Others are open dormitories divided into low-walled cubes. Either way you have a bunk, a locker, and a cellmate or a bunkmate (your cellmate or bunkmate). Your property is capped and has to fit. Which style your facility runs is tracked in [the facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons). ## The line — Where your space ends Learn where your space ends immediately. At a low, in a cell, with one other man, this is not a courtesy question. It is the mechanism by which two people share a very small room for months without incident. ## The other man — On cellmates You do not choose them and you may not like them. The arrangement works on a small number of understood rules: you do not touch their property, you give them privacy when they need it, you keep your half clean, and you handle disagreements between the two of you rather than making them anyone else's business. If it genuinely does not work, people move. It is handled quietly through the units, not through staff. The full set of unwritten rules (property, space, the television, the phone) is in [the companion guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/unwritten-rules) and applies here without exception. ### [Your first days](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/your-first-days) The actual intake begins when you hit the unit, and it is not conducted by staff. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/your-first-days # Your first days The actual intake begins when you hit the unit, and it is not conducted by staff. ## Arrival — How fast it happens You arrive, get processed through R&D (where you're processed in and out), get a bed roll, and get walked to a unit. Then the actual intake begins, and it is not conducted by staff. At a low, it begins quickly. Within an hour or two of hitting the unit, someone from your car (your social group inside) will introduce themselves. This is more structured and more immediate than at a camp, where the same thing happens but casually and over a day or two. The generic version of arrival (the role you are stepping into, and why the vetting exists at all) is in [the companion guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/how-to-carry-yourself). ## The question — The paperwork conversation They will ask what you are in for. What is being established is whether you have a sex offense. Answer plainly. Name the offense, briefly, without inflation and without vagueness. Vagueness is the only wrong answer. It reads as concealment and creates suspicion where there was none. You will probably not be asked to produce documentation. Usually the question is the whole of it. But your initial classification sheet (the one you get from your unit team (the staff who run your daily life) at your first review) shows your Walsh Act status, and that is the document people mean when they talk about paperwork (your PSR and case file). Mine said what it needed to say and nobody ever asked to see it. The men conducting this conversation are, at most lows, the group loosely called the solid (a reliable guy who follows the rules) white boys, or their equivalent in your car. Their identities tend to be organized around the drugs they used and the drugs they sold. They are not, generally, dangerous to you. They are performing an intake function and they will be perfectly pleasant about it once it is done. ## The base rate — What they will make of you If you have all your teeth, no tattoos, and speak in complete sentences, the initial assumption (from inmates and from staff) is that you are a sex offender. This is not hostility. It is the base rate at a low doing exactly what base rates do. It resolves in a day and it resolves entirely on the paperwork answer. Do not take it personally and do not get indignant about it. Getting indignant is the only way to make it last. ## After that — What to say about your case People will be curious about a financial case in a way they are not curious about anything else. The population is broadly fascinated by fraud and a number of men will ask you how it was done, as though there were a recipe they could use. Deflect pleasantly and repeatedly. And do not discuss money, not what you had, not what you have, not what your restitution number is. The men around you came from very little. A sentence that begins “we kept trying to make more” has no good ending here. ### [Cars at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-cars-work-at-a-low) Cars are real at a low in a way they are not at a camp. Membership is not optional, and the obligations are actual obligations. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-cars-work-at-a-low # Cars at a low Cars are real at a low in a way they are not at a camp. Membership is not optional, and the obligations are actual obligations. ## The difference — Real in a way a camp's are not Cars (your social group inside) are real at a low in a way they are not at a camp. Membership is not optional, obligations are actual obligations, and the structure does meaningful work. What a car is, how it sorts, and why the structure holds everywhere is covered in [the companion guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/cars-and-race-politics). This part covers what a low adds. ## The work — What it does - Intake. Vetting new arrivals, which is [the conversation in the last part](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/your-first-days); - starter supplies before your first commissary (the prison store), which you will need and should accept; - dispute resolution, both internally and with other cars; - chores and cleaning rotations, which are assigned and which you do; - and information, which in your first month is the most valuable thing on the list. ## Who runs it — The driver Someone runs your car: the driver (an inmate who runs a group). They handle business with other groups and resolve problems before they become incidents. You do not need a relationship with them. You need to know who they are and to avoid generating work for them. ## Why it holds — Collective consequence Your conduct reflects on your car. If you run a debt you cannot pay, your car is told before you are approached about it. If you create a problem with another group, your car absorbs it and then deals with you. That is why the intake conversation happens within two hours instead of two days. Everyone has a direct interest in your being unremarkable. ## The correction — What it is not Cars are not gangs, though there is overlap in places. Most of what a car does is administrative and dull. And cars govern business, not conversation. You can be friendly with anyone, and you should be. I was in the white car and the people I was closest to were Mexicans and Colombians, men doing long sentences for carrying something they often did not fully understand across a border for a few thousand dollars. Those friendships were real and they were the best part of being there. You will leave with a durable and uncomfortable understanding of who federal sentencing actually lands on. That is worth something. ### [Coexistence](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/sex-offenders-on-the-compound) A significant portion of a low's population is serving time for sex offenses. This is a defining feature of low security and it is not optional to understand. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/sex-offenders-on-the-compound # Coexistence A significant portion of a low's population is serving time for sex offenses. This is a defining feature of low security and it is not optional to understand. ## The fact — Everyone coexists A significant portion of a low's population is serving time for sex offenses. There is no separate compound, no separate chow hall, no separate yard. You will stand in lines with these men, work alongside them, and sit near them at meals. ## The rules — What is expected of you The rule, and it is understood everywhere, is that you do not go out of your way to interact. You do not seek them out, you do not eat with them, you do not partner with them on things, and you do not develop visible friendships. You also do not harass them, and nobody expects you to. That is not how a low functions. Men who go looking for that kind of trouble create problems for their own car and get dealt with accordingly. Incidental interaction is fine. Working the same detail is fine. Basic civility is fine and expected. ## The uncomfortable part — What nobody says Some of the best conversations I had were with men in that population. They were often the most educated people on the compound, frequently the most articulate, and generally the least interested in performing anything. I am not asking you to do anything with that. I am telling you because it is true, because nobody says it, and because you will notice it yourself within a month and wonder whether something is wrong with you. Nothing is wrong with you. The social rule still applies regardless of what you privately conclude. Observe it. ### [Staff at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/officers-at-a-low) Officers here are generally reasonable, and the visibility problem is sharper than at a camp. Two things the general staff guidance does not cover. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/officers-at-a-low # Staff at a low Officers here are generally reasonable, and the visibility problem is sharper than at a camp. Two things the general staff guidance does not cover. ## The frame — Two additions, not a replacement The general staff guidance (who does what, how to ask, the unit team (the staff who run your daily life)) is in [the companion guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff) and applies fully. Two things are specific to a low. ## The good news — Officers here are reasonable First, officers (a uniformed guard) at a low are generally reasonable. The population is not one that requires constant confrontation, and most officers would prefer a quiet shift. Do not make their job harder and they will not make yours harder. Once they have decided you are not a problem, you can joke with them. ## The visibility problem — Being seen talking to staff Second, the visibility problem is sharper here than at a camp. Being seen in extended private conversation with an officer reads as informing, and the suspicion spreads faster than any correction. When you need to talk to staff about anything beyond a passing exchange, bring someone from your car. Not for protection. For a witness who can say what was and was not discussed. Be pleasant, be brief, do it in the open. ### [How conflict actually happens](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-fights-actually-start) Serious violence at a low is rare. Fights are not. Here is the honest version, because the short version leaves you unprepared. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-fights-actually-start # How conflict actually happens Serious violence at a low is rare. Fights are not. Here is the honest version, because the short version leaves you unprepared. ## The honest version — Rare, and not zero Here is the honest version, because I have given people the short version before and the short version is not quite right. Serious violence at a low is rare. It is not a place where men are shaken down for their commissary or where new arrivals are tested. The system is heavily self-policing: a lot of people on that compound have arrangements worth real money, everyone's release date is the thing they care about most, and nobody wants an incident that brings a shakedown or a lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) onto the whole unit. But fights do happen, and telling you they do not would leave you unprepared for the one time it matters. ## Causes — What actually starts them Almost never anything dramatic. In descending order of frequency: - Debt: unpaid, disputed, or renegotiated without agreement; - property: something touched, moved, borrowed, or missing; - the phone: time, turns, hovering, and what someone overheard; - the television, genuinely, and particularly during football season; - disrespect in front of other people, which is the category all the others convert into; - and something said about somebody that traveled and came back distorted. Notice that four of the six are avoidable by following [the unwritten rules](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/unwritten-rules), and the fifth is avoidable by not repeating things. ## The pattern — How it escalates There is a pattern, and it is slower than you would think. Something happens. It gets mentioned. It gets mentioned to the wrong person. The two cars involved talk. Usually it resolves there: the driver on one side tells their own person to pay, apologize, or drop it, and it ends. Fights happen when that process fails or gets skipped. Almost always, someone handled something themselves that should have gone through their car. ## The fear — Weapons They exist. They are uncommon at a low and their use is rarer still. The overwhelming majority of physical conflict at a low is a short fistfight in a blind spot, arranged so that it is not seen, ended quickly, and not reported by either party. ## The procedure — What to do Leave the area and tell someone from your car. That is the entire answer. The fear people have is that this marks them as weak. It does not, provided you use the correct channel. Going to your car is the expected procedure and it is how the great majority of disputes end. Handling something yourself when it should have gone through the car is what causes problems, not the reverse. What you never do, under any circumstances, is involve staff in a dispute with another inmate. ## The arithmetic — What a fight costs A twenty-second fight produces a shot (a disciplinary write-up) for both parties, regardless of who started it. Self-defense is a mitigating argument at a disciplinary hearing and often not even that. The sanctions are covered in [the companion guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-a-fight-costs), but the one people forget is the halfway house (the halfway house before release) recommendation. A shot in your file is a reason to cut your pre-release placement, and that is frequently the most expensive part: more expensive than the lost good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble) and considerably more expensive than whatever you were arguing about. ### [Shakedowns, the hole, and lockdowns](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/shakedowns-the-shu-and-lockdowns) The three ways the institution reaches into your day without notice, and what each one costs you. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/shakedowns-the-shu-and-lockdowns # Shakedowns, the hole, and lockdowns The three ways the institution reaches into your day without notice, and what each one costs you. ## No notice — Shakedowns Your area gets searched, with no notice and no particular reason. Property that is not authorized is confiscated. Property that is authorized is sometimes confiscated anyway. Things get left in a mess. There is no point being upset about it and no recourse worth pursuing. Keep your area such that a shakedown finds nothing interesting. ## The hole — The special housing unit The hole (solitary). You go there for disciplinary reasons, or pending investigation, or occasionally for your own protection whether or not you asked for it. It is isolation. No property, no programming, restricted phone and mail, limited out-of-cell time. Programming stops, which means your earned time credits (time off earned through programming) stop accruing. People come out of it noticeably worse than they went in. Pending-investigation placement is the part nobody expects: you can be put there without having done anything, while something else is sorted out, for weeks. ## The compound closes — Lockdowns The compound closes. No movement, no work, no rec, meals delivered to the units, and often no phone. It can last a day or several weeks. Lockdowns follow incidents, staffing shortages, and sometimes nothing identifiable. How often this happens is the single largest variable in quality of life between one low and another, and it is worth finding out about your facility specifically. _Facility-dependent: some lows lock down at the slightest provocation and some almost never do. Mine was the former, and it colors everything._ Lockdowns are tracked here: [each facility's page](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) shows current operations, and [the alert service](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) emails your family when your facility locks down and when it comes back. ### [The economy at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/contraband-phones-and-prices) Everything in the general economy runs here. The difference is the fence, and the fence is priced in. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/contraband-phones-and-prices # The economy at a low Everything in the general economy runs here. The difference is the fence, and the fence is priced in. ## The frame — Risk is priced in The general description of how the prison economy works is in [the companion guide](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles): stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, stores running two-for-one, and the full range of services. All of that operates at a low. What follows is what is different here. The fundamental difference between a low and a camp is that everything contraband costs more, because getting it in is harder and the consequences are worse. At a camp there is no fence and considerably more traffic. At a low there is a fence, and the price reflects it. Ordinary services are unaffected. Haircuts, laundry, tailoring, cleaning, cooking, food out of the kitchen, extra trays, legal work. All of it runs at a low the way it runs anywhere, and at similar prices. ## Contraband phones Contraband phones exist at lows and they are expensive: substantially more than at a camp, often by a large multiple. Renting time on someone else's is the more common arrangement and considerably cheaper than owning one. The sanction is the harshest in the ordinary disciplinary range: the hole, a significant loss of good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble), and a transfer, which at a low means going up in security rather than down. You will make your own decision. Make it knowing what it costs, and knowing that the transfer is often the part that hurts most, because it resets every relationship you have built. Prices vary enormously by institution and change constantly. Do not arrive with a number in your head. Local rates, where known, are tracked in [the facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons). ## The legal versions — Phone minutes and packs Official phone time (your monthly phone allowance) is capped monthly, and men who do not use theirs sell the remainder. This is one of the most common transactions on the compound and it is cheap relative to everything else. The same applies to commissary. Spending is capped, and men who do not spend theirs will shop for you (going to the store): buying someone's pack, in the local phrasing. If you have money and a low cap, this is how you get around it, and it is unremarkable. One note: these arrangements are among the few that routinely cross the sex offender line, since the transaction is administrative and nobody has to sit down together. That is understood and nobody thinks much of it. ## Tobacco Contraband, and priced accordingly. Prices vary more between institutions than anything else and unpredictably so. ### [Jobs and programming](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-a-job-at-a-low) You will have a job. Which one you get depends mostly on whether you asked. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-a-job-at-a-low # Jobs and programming You will have a job. Which one you get depends mostly on whether you asked. ## The assignment — You will have a job At most lows it is required. The usual assignments: - **Food service.** Long hours, early, and the single best job if you care about eating. Access to the kitchen is a real economic position. - **Orderly (an inmate cleaning job, usually your first).** Cleaning the unit or a building. Light work, low pay, easy schedule. - **Facilities and maintenance.** Plumbing, electrical, grounds. Genuinely skilled work in places, and the crews tend to be good ones. - **Warehouse.** Physical, varied, and generally regarded as one of the better assignments. - **Education.** Tutoring, which is available to people who can teach and which is easier to get than most. - **UNICOR (the better-paying prison work program).** Federal Prison Industries, where present. Pays multiples of everything else and has a waiting list. ## The move — Ask early Ask for what you want early. The good assignments go to men who asked first, not to men who were assigned. ## Programming — Do the classes anyway Programming matters for reasons unrelated to its content: participation is what accrues your earned time credits (time off earned through programming). The classes themselves are pitched at people without a high school education and you will find them close to useless. Do them anyway. Sit there, complete them, collect the credit. What those credits actually do to your release date: [the time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator). ### [Getting to a camp from a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-transferred-to-a-camp) If nothing on your record requires the fence, you can be moved down. Some of it you control. Some of it nobody will explain. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/getting-transferred-to-a-camp # Getting to a camp from a low If nothing on your record requires the fence, you can be moved down. Some of it you control. Some of it nobody will explain. ## The mechanism — How it happens If you scored into a low but do not have a public safety factor keeping you out of a camp, you can be moved down. The mechanism is your custody classification getting reviewed at a program review, with clear conduct and time served working in your favor. Some facilities will move a man out to a camp after six months of clean time. Others will not, and there is a management component to it that is not fully transparent. ## Your part — What you can do Keep your conduct clean, raise it at every team meeting (the staff who run your daily life), ask specifically what is preventing a transfer, and get the answer in writing or write down who told you what and when. ## The warning — What you cannot do Pay anyone to make it happen. There is no consultant, lawyer, or arrangement that produces a camp designation. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something they do not control. The full version of that warning, with how designation actually works: [paying to get to XYZ facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). ### [The honest comparison](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/is-a-low-bad) People ask whether a low is bad. It is not, mostly, and it is worse than a camp in specific and predictable ways. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/is-a-low-bad # The honest comparison People ask whether a low is bad. It is not, mostly, and it is worse than a camp in specific and predictable ways. ## What is worse than a camp - The fence, and everything that follows from it: controlled movement, less autonomy, a smaller world; - lockdowns and shakedowns, which are more frequent and more disruptive; - a population with longer sentences and more to lose, which makes the social rules stricter; - cars that are tighter and obligations that are real; - and [the coexistence question](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/sex-offenders-on-the-compound), which does not arise at a camp in the same way. ## What is better than people expect - It is not dangerous, in the way films have taught you to expect. Serious violence is rare and nearly always the end of [a chain that was visible for days](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison/how-fights-actually-start); - officers are reasonable, and once you are established as unremarkable they largely leave you alone; - the compound is bigger and busier than a camp, which means more to do and more people to know; - and the men are, on balance, better company than you are expecting. ## The truth — The thing that actually gets you Neither of those lists. It is the boredom, the repetition, and the fact that everything that matters to you depends on staff who are not in a hurry and to whom your urgency is not visible. That is what a low is. Not frightening. Grinding. ### [Getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison) The halfway house, home confinement, supervised release, and the practical work of rebuilding. Start it eighteen months out, not six. Almost everything in this guide varies by institution: how often it locks down, what the store marks up, how housing runs. [Look up your facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) and find out what you are actually walking into. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Low%20security%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison # Getting out Everyone spends their sentence thinking about the release date. Almost nobody plans for what happens after it, and the after is longer and in some ways harder than the inside. This covers the halfway house (the halfway house before release), home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring), supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole), and the practical work of rebuilding: documents, banking, housing, employment, health, and the part nobody warns you about, which is what a year or more of not making decisions does to your ability to make them. Twelve parts, written to be read in order. The rest of this page is the front matter: when to start, what this does not cover, and the four things that matter most. ## Timing — Start planning at eighteen months out, not at six The single most common mistake is treating release as a finish line rather than a project with dependencies. Housing depends on approval. Approval depends on having an address. Employment depends on documents. Documents depend on other documents. Each step takes weeks, and several of them cannot start until a prior one finishes. People who begin this work while they are still inside land considerably better than people who begin it in the parking lot. ## A note on scope Supervised release conditions (the rules you live under after release) vary by district, by judge, and by offense. Nothing here overrides what your judgment actually says or what your probation officer (who supervises you after release) actually tells you. When those conflict with this document, they win. ## The four things that matter most If you read nothing else: Cheat sheet - **Start eighteen months out.** The steps have dependencies and several of them cannot begin until a prior one finishes. - **Documents first.** No bank account, no lease, no job, and no benefits until you have them. - **Never be caught in a small lie by your PO.** The underlying conduct is usually trivial. The dishonesty is what gets acted on. - **Do not coast the last sixty days.** Violations cluster at the end, and a violation there can send you back. ## The twelve parts ### [The halfway house and home confinement](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement) Passes, curfews, mandatory employment, and a quarter of your gross taken as subsistence. Then the ankle monitor, and what it costs everyone you live with. ### [Supervised release](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release) Your probation officer, the conditions you are expected to comply with whether or not you read them, travel, early termination, and what a violation actually costs. ### [Documents come first](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back) Birth certificate, Social Security card, state ID, and your release paperwork. The order matters, because each one unblocks the next. ### [Banking and credit](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/opening-a-bank-account) Why the account gets denied, which is usually an old overdraft rather than the conviction. Second-chance checking, credit reports, and identity theft. ### [Housing](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/finding-housing-with-a-record) The approval problem, the screening problem, and the deposit problem. What actually works, including the unglamorous thing most people actually do. ### [Work](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony) Disclose early and to a human. Target companies under fifty people. How background checks actually run, and the one thing to internalize about employers who hesitate. ### [Your digital life](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-accounts-back) Two-factor on a phone that no longer exists, accounts closed for inactivity, and support processes with no category for your situation. ### [Money and restitution](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/paying-restitution-after-release) Payments continue after release, interest may accrue, and refunds can be intercepted. Know the balance and the schedule in writing. ### [Health](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/health-insurance-and-medication) You leave with a limited supply and no provider. Release is a qualifying event for coverage, and the enrollment window is limited. ### [The part nobody prepares you for](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/what-reentry-feels-like) Decision fatigue, hypervigilance, the gap in everyone else's life, the reunion, substance risk, and the difference between desperate and humbled. ### [Rights and status](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/guns-voting-licenses-and-passports) Firearms, voting, professional licenses, and international travel. What is federal and absolute, and what depends entirely on your state. ### [The first thirty days](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/first-thirty-days-in-order) Ten things, in rough order. The time passes either way. What varies is what you have built by the end of it. ## Where this guide starts and stops This one picks up at the door on the way out and runs through the first thirty days. What happens on the way in is [Before you go in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report), what happens between the two is [While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like), and the version written for the person on the outside is [For families](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide). What happens after the first thirty days is [Once you're out](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison): the companion guide, written for two years later. Getting off supervision early, why expungement does not exist, your name online, working for yourself, licenses, credit, travel, kids, and dating. If you are still inside, most of part 3 onward is work someone can start on your behalf now. That is the point of starting at eighteen months. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement # The halfway house and home confinement Everyone expects this to be the easy part. A surprising number of people find it the hardest stretch of the entire sentence. ## Almost out — Why it is harder than expected Formally a residential reentry center (the halfway house before release). The rules are, in several respects, stricter than the institution you just left. You sign in and out. You have a curfew. Every movement requires a pass approved in advance, with a destination, a route, and a return time. You are subject to breathalyzer and drug testing at any point. You share a room, often with people who are not managing this well. And you can see your life from there. That combination (petty rules plus proximity to freedom) is what makes it hard. ## Mandatory — Employment You are generally required to find work within a set window, often around two to three weeks. The job has to be approved, the hours have to be documented, and your employer will typically be contacted. This is why job search work should start inside. Arriving with applications already out, or with a job lined up, converts the most stressful part of the halfway house into a formality. The long version of the job search is [part 6](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony). Read it before you get here, not after. ## The bill — Subsistence You pay to live there. The standard arrangement is a percentage of your gross income (commonly twenty-five percent) capped at what the placement actually costs. That comes out before rent, before restitution, before anything you are trying to save. Budget for it. People are routinely surprised, and the surprise arrives at the same moment as their first paycheck in years. ## Earned — Passes Social passes, home passes, and eventually weekend passes typically become available as you accumulate clean time. They are earned, they are revocable, and they are the currency of the place. ## The trap — The last sixty days problem Violations cluster at the end. A man does eighteen months without an incident report, gets to within two months of going home, and loses it over a late return or a missed call-in. It happens because the rules feel absurd by then and because the finish line makes people careless. A violation here can send you back to a facility. Say this out loud to yourself, and have your family say it to you. ## Closer — Home confinement Better than the halfway house in every respect that matters, and still a constraint on an entire household. You are on an ankle monitor (the GPS device for home confinement) with an approved schedule. Work, medical appointments, and approved errands are scheduled in advance. Anything spontaneous requires permission, and permission takes time you may not have. Practical things people get wrong: - The monitor needs charging, and a dead battery reads as a violation; - your residence has to be approved before you can go to it, which means the address work happens well in advance; - everyone living in the home is inside your schedule too, and the friction is real; - and someone will come to the house, unannounced, to check. Tell the people you live with what to expect before you arrive rather than after. The household side of this is written up for them: [Coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/when-they-come-home). ### [Supervised release](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release) The longest phase and the one people understand least. It is not parole, it is not a formality, and it can be revoked. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release # Supervised release The longest phase and the one people understand least. It is not parole, it is not a formality, and it can be revoked. ## The frame — What it actually is This is the longest phase and the one people understand least. It is not parole (doesn't exist in the federal system anymore), it is not probation in the state sense, and it is not a formality. It is a term of court-ordered supervision that runs for years after you are otherwise free, and it can be revoked. ## The relationship — Your probation officer The single most consequential relationship in your post-release life. This person approves your residence, your employment, your travel, and in many cases your internet use and your associations. The approach that works is the same one that works with a case manager (the staffer who controls your release date), with one important difference: your probation officer (who supervises you after release) has considerably more discretion, and a good relationship actually changes outcomes. - Report on time, every time, without being chased; - disclose before you are asked, particularly about anything that looks bad out of context; - ask permission in advance rather than forgiveness afterward; - put requests in writing and keep copies; - and never, under any circumstances, be caught in a small lie about something that did not matter. That last one ends more supervision terms badly than anything else. The underlying conduct is frequently trivial. The dishonesty is what gets acted on. The general version of working with staff is [here](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff). Most of it transfers. ## The fine print — Read your conditions Get the actual list from your judgment and read every line. Standard conditions (the rules you live under after release) cover reporting, employment, residence, travel, and association with people who have records. Special conditions are added case by case and are where the real constraints live: computer monitoring software, restrictions on devices in the home, financial disclosure, treatment requirements, restrictions on the industry you can work in. You are expected to comply with conditions you never read. Read them. ## Permission — Travel Leaving your judicial district requires permission. So does moving. International travel requires more than permission and is frequently denied outright. Ask early. A request made three weeks out is a request. A request made three days out is a problem. ## The exit — Modification and early termination Conditions can be modified. If a condition is genuinely preventing you from working or living somewhere, that is an argument worth making through your PO first and through counsel if necessary. Supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole) can also be terminated early. The statute permits the court to terminate a term of supervised release after one year has been served, if warranted by your conduct and in the interest of justice. Judiciary policy directs officers to consider recommending it for low-risk people who have been compliant. Nobody will offer this to you. Ask your PO what their criteria are, keep your record clean, and raise it when you are eligible. ## The risk — Violations A violation (breaking a release rule; can send you back) can result in revocation and a return to custody. Technical violations (a missed report, a failed test, unauthorized travel) are treated more seriously than people expect, particularly early in the term. If something goes wrong, tell your PO before they find out. The difference in outcome between self-disclosure and discovery is enormous. ## Further out — Ending it early, and what ends it badly After a year served, a judge can terminate the rest of the term. That is a longer conversation and it belongs to the companion guide: [Getting off supervision early](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/ending-supervised-release-early), and the full version of the violations problem is [What actually sends people back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/supervised-release-violations). ### [Documents come first](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back) No bank account, no lease, no job, no benefits. Nothing else works until this does, and each document requires other documents. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back # Documents come first No bank account, no lease, no job, no benefits. Nothing else works until this does, and each document requires other documents. ## The blocker — Nothing else works until this does No bank account, no lease, no job, no benefits. The problem is circular: each document requires other documents, and you may have none of them. Work out the order before you are standing at a counter. ## The four — What to get, and where - **Birth certificate.** Order it from the vital records office in your state of birth. Start this from inside if you can. Family can request it on your behalf in many states. - **Social Security card.** Replacement requires identification. The Social Security Administration has a process for people released from incarceration and your BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) release paperwork can serve as identification in some circumstances. - **State ID or driver's license.** The one everything else depends on. Requirements vary by state, and many states now have a specific process for people leaving incarceration. Some facilities will help you start this before release. Ask, because most will not offer. - **Your release paperwork.** Keep it. It is functionally an identity document during the first weeks and you will be asked for it. ## The one that catches people — A suspended license If your license was suspended for unpaid fines or fees, find that out now rather than at the counter. Reinstatement can take months and it blocks employment that requires driving. ### [Banking and credit](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/opening-a-bank-account) Opening an account is often harder than people expect, and the reason usually is not your conviction. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/opening-a-bank-account # Banking and credit Opening an account is often harder than people expect, and the reason usually is not your conviction. ## The real reason — Why the account gets denied Banks screen new accounts through consumer reporting systems that track prior account closures, unpaid overdrafts, and fraud flags. If you left an account overdrawn years ago, or if an account was closed while you were inside, that record follows you and it is what causes the denial. ## The fix — What to do - Request your own report from the account screening agencies, which you are entitled to, and find out what is actually on it; - dispute anything inaccurate; - pay off an old negative balance if one exists, and get it marked settled; - look for second-chance checking products, which most large banks and many credit unions offer specifically for this; - and try a local credit union, which will frequently talk to you like a person. ## The other file — Credit Pull all three credit reports immediately. Two things commonly happened while you were gone: accounts went to collections, and someone may have used your identity, which is more common for incarcerated people than most realize. Rebuilding is slow and mechanical. A secured card, used lightly and paid in full monthly, is the standard route. Avoid anything marketed as credit repair. ### [Housing](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/finding-housing-with-a-record) The hardest practical problem after release, and the one with the fewest good answers. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/finding-housing-with-a-record # Housing The hardest practical problem after release, and the one with the fewest good answers. ## Months in advance — The approval problem Your residence has to be approved before you go to it. That means the address work happens months in advance, and it means the people at that address have to agree to it and may be visited. If you are going to family, have that conversation early and specifically. "You can stay with us" is not the same as "yes, a federal officer can come to my house unannounced." ## The wall — The barriers - Most large property management companies screen for criminal history and deny on it; - federally subsidized housing has its own restrictions, and some are absolute; - a deposit and first month's rent is a substantial sum for someone who left with a few hundred dollars; - and no rental history for the past several years is its own problem, independent of the conviction. ## The way through — What actually works - Private individual landlords rather than management companies: the same principle as small employers, which is that you are talking to a human being who can make a decision; - disclosing upfront rather than being screened out, for the same reason it works in job hunting; - offering a larger deposit or a co-signer if you can; - reentry housing organizations, which vary wildly in quality but exist in most metros; - and staying with family longer than you want to, which is unglamorous and is what most people actually do. ### [Work](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony) Disclose early, to the decision maker, in plain language. Target small companies. Own it on paper before Google does. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony # Work Disclose early, to the decision maker, in plain language. Target small companies. Own it on paper before Google does. ## The long version — Written up separately I wrote this up in full elsewhere, and rather than restate it, the guide is here: [How to get a job as a felon](https://josh.mn/posts/how-to-get-a-job-as-a-felon/). ## The short version — Seven things - **Disclose early, and to the decision maker.** The longer you wait, the worse it goes, because a late reveal feels like concealment. Skip the application process at small companies and email the founder or hiring manager directly. - **Use plain language.**"I can't pass a background check," and one sentence of explanation if they ask. Not an argument, not an apology. - **Target companies under about fifty people.** Small companies have humans making decisions. Large ones have checklists written by people who will never meet you. - **Consider remote and contract work.** Both are more output-focused and less credential-focused, and background checks are less common for contract work. Check contract arrangements against your [supervised release employment condition](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release) first. - **Own it on paper.** Put it on the resume and on LinkedIn. Get there before Google does. - **The gap answer is "prison."** You do not owe anyone a productivity narrative for that time. - **Ignore most reentry advice.** It is written for people with no skills and no network. If that is not you, it was not written for you. ## How it runs — Background checks, mechanically Checks generally show convictions rather than arrests. State reporting limits vary and federal convictions generally are not time-limited. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, an employer using a third-party report who declines to hire you on the basis of it must provide you a copy and an opportunity to dispute inaccuracies. Errors do occur. Ban-the-box laws delay the question rather than removing it, and are largely irrelevant if you are disclosing upfront anyway. ## The truth — The one thing to internalize The employers who hesitate are not people you want to work for. If someone's default posture toward you is suspicion, every mistake you make for the next three years gets read through that lens. The conviction just surfaces that disposition faster than it would otherwise appear. ## Further out — After the first job All of the above is about getting hired. What happens once you have a year or two of recent work behind you (when to stop leading with the conviction, and the answer to keep ready for the next time it surfaces) is [Work, after the first job](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/building-a-career-with-a-record). If the answer turns out to be working for yourself, [that has its own set of problems](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/starting-a-business-with-a-felony). ### [Your digital life](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-accounts-back) Two-factor tied to a phone you no longer have, and recovery flows built on the assumption that you have been reachable this whole time. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-accounts-back # Your digital life Two-factor tied to a phone you no longer have, and recovery flows built on the assumption that you have been reachable this whole time. ## Expect a bad month — What you are walking into If nobody prepared for this before you went in, expect a bad month. Two-factor authentication tied to a phone number you no longer have, recovery flows that text a device that no longer exists, accounts that were closed for inactivity, domains that expired, and support processes designed on the assumption that you have been reachable this whole time. I wrote about what this actually looked like: [I got out of federal prison and couldn't log into my GitHub](https://josh.mn/posts/i-got-out-of-federal-prison-and-couldnt-log-into-my-github/). ## The order — Practical order of operations - Get a phone number first, because everything else depends on it; - recover your primary email before anything else, since it is the recovery path for the rest; - work through accounts in order of consequence rather than in order of annoyance; - expect identity verification to require [the documents](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back), which is another reason they come first; - and be patient with support processes that have no category for your situation. If you have not gone in yet, the version of this written for that side of the door is [Waiting for designation](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report/waiting-for-designation). Almost all of this is preventable from there. ## Separate fight — Seized property Property seized in your case is a separate fight and generally requires counsel. It is worth knowing that the process exists and that it is slow. ### [Money and restitution](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/paying-restitution-after-release) Restitution does not end with your sentence. Missed payments are a supervision problem before they are a financial one. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/paying-restitution-after-release # Money and restitution Restitution does not end with your sentence. Missed payments are a supervision problem before they are a financial one. ## It follows you — Restitution does not end with your sentence Payments continue after release, typically as a condition of supervision, on a schedule based on your income. Interest may accrue. Tax refunds can be intercepted against the balance. ## The work — What to do - Know the exact balance and the exact payment schedule, in writing; - pay on time and on the record, because a documented history of consistent payment is the thing that supports later modification; - if your income changes materially, ask for the schedule to be revisited rather than simply falling behind; - and file your taxes, including any years you missed, because unfiled returns compound into a much larger problem. Do not treat the balance as an abstraction to be dealt with later. Missed payments are a supervision problem before they are a financial one. ## Further out — The balance outlives the sentence A restitution judgment stays enforceable for twenty years, and once supervision ends the collection moves to the U.S. Attorney's financial litigation unit. Rebuilding credit, buying a house, and the long life of the judgment are in [Money, over years](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/rebuilding-credit-and-getting-a-mortgage). ### [Health](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/health-insurance-and-medication) The gap at release is the risk. You leave with a limited supply of medication and no established provider. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/health-insurance-and-medication # Health The gap at release is the risk. You leave with a limited supply of medication and no established provider. ## The gap — What to handle, and when The gap at release is the risk. You leave with a limited supply of medication and no established provider. - Ask for a copy of your medical records and your medication list before you walk out; - release from incarceration is a qualifying event for health insurance enrollment, which opens a limited window: use it rather than discovering it later; - Medicaid eligibility rules for people leaving incarceration vary by state and several states now begin coverage before release; - find a primary care provider in the first month, not the first year; - and handle dental early, because it is usually the thing that got worst inside. If you have a condition requiring continuous medication, this is the most urgent item in this entire guide. A gap of a few weeks is a genuine medical risk and a common one. ### [The part nobody prepares you for](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/what-reentry-feels-like) The logistics are solvable. Decision fatigue, hypervigilance, the gap, and the difference between desperate and humbled are harder. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/what-reentry-feels-like # The part nobody prepares you for The logistics are solvable. Decision fatigue, hypervigilance, the gap, and the difference between desperate and humbled are harder. ## The frame — This part is harder The logistics in the rest of this guide are solvable. This part is harder and it catches competent people off guard. ## Forty kinds of cereal — Decision fatigue You spent a long time in a place that made every decision for you. When you eat, when you sleep, what you wear, where you stand. That capacity atrophies, and the first time you are standing in a grocery store looking at forty kinds of cereal, you may find you cannot pick one. This is normal, it is temporary, and it is genuinely disorienting. Start with small deliberate choices and let the range expand. ## Still reading rooms — Hypervigilance You will notice where people are standing. You will track exits. You will read a room in a way you did not before and cannot easily switch off. Crowds, open spaces, and unstructured noise are harder than they were. This also fades, though more slowly than the rest. ## Out of step — The gap Everyone else's life continued. Children got older, friends moved, prices changed, technology moved on, and conversations reference things you were not there for. There is a specific loneliness in being back among people who love you and feeling out of step with all of it. Say it out loud to somebody rather than managing it privately. ## The reunion — Relationships Whoever held things together while you were gone ran a household alone and changed in the process. You changed too, in ways you cannot see and they can. The reunion is rarely the one either of you rehearsed. Expect a period of renegotiation rather than a return to how things were. Counseling helps considerably more than people expect, and it is easier to start before the friction than after it. ## The first weeks — Substance risk If you had a substance problem before, the release period is a high-risk window, and tolerance after a period of abstinence is dangerously lower than it was. This is a well-documented mortality risk in the first weeks after release. If this applies to you, have something in place before you walk out, not after. ## The difference — Desperate versus humbled There is a real difference between the two and it determines a great deal. Desperate makes you accept things you should not accept. It makes you undersell yourself, apologize reflexively, and be grateful for scraps. People read it instantly and some of them will use it. Humbled means you understand what happened, you have integrated it, and you are moving. You carry it as something you have processed rather than as a weight you are dragging. The narrative in your head (that everyone is judging you, that every door is closed, that you are permanently marked) is not accurate. It feels accurate for a while. The first conversation where you disclose is the hardest one. The twentieth is routine. ### [Rights and status](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/guns-voting-licenses-and-passports) Firearms, voting, professional licenses, and a passport. What the conviction actually changes, and what varies by state. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/guns-voting-licenses-and-passports # Rights and status Firearms, voting, professional licenses, and a passport. What the conviction actually changes, and what varies by state. ## Absolute — Firearms Federal law prohibits possession following a felony conviction. This includes firearms in a home you live in. Take this seriously. It is among the fastest routes back. ## Depends on your state — Voting Restoration depends on state law and varies substantially. Several states restore automatically upon release from incarceration. Find out what yours does rather than assuming you cannot. ## Start early — Professional licenses Rules vary by profession and state. Some boards have a formal process for people with convictions. Start early, because the timelines are long. ## Two separate questions — Passport and international travel A passport is generally obtainable, but travel outside the country during supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole) requires permission and is frequently refused. Certain convictions carry additional passport restrictions. ## Further out — What comes back, and when This is the version you need in the first month. Which rights return on release, which return when supervision ends, why the firearms restoration process on the books is not a real option, and where jury service sits are in [Your rights, and when you get them back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/voting-guns-and-jury-duty). Once you are off paper and actually booking a trip, [Travel](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/international-travel-with-a-felony) covers the border problem. ### [The first thirty days](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/first-thirty-days-in-order) In rough order. None of it is complicated, all of it takes longer than it should, and the sequencing is what decides how the month goes. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/first-thirty-days-in-order # The first thirty days In rough order. None of it is complicated, all of it takes longer than it should, and the sequencing is what decides how the month goes. ## The list — In rough order 1. Report to your probation officer (who supervises you after release) as instructed, on the day instructed. 2. Get a phone number. 3. Assemble [identity documents](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back), in the order that unblocks the next one. 4. Recover your primary email, then everything downstream of it. 5. Open a bank account, or [find out why you cannot](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/opening-a-bank-account) and fix it. 6. Enroll in [health coverage](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/health-insurance-and-medication) while the window is open, and refill any medication. 7. Confirm your [restitution balance](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/paying-restitution-after-release) and payment schedule in writing. 8. Get your [job search](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony) moving, or your approved employment documented if you already have it. 9. Pull all three credit reports. 10. Read your [supervised release conditions](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release) in full, and ask your PO about anything ambiguous before it matters. ## The point — Sequencing is the whole thing None of this is complicated. All of it takes longer than it should, and the sequencing is what determines whether the first month is manageable or miserable. The time passes either way. What varies is what you have built by the end of it. ### [Once you're out](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison) Getting off supervision early, why expungement does not exist, your name online, self-employment, licenses, credit, travel, kids, and dating. For when the logistics are handled. What varies is what you have built by the end of it. Start the parts that have dependencies first, ask your PO before you need to, and stop treating the release date as the finish line. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison # Once you're out This one is for later. Not the first month. The years after that. You've got the ID, the bank account, the job. You're reporting on time. Now you're two years in and you want off paper, or you want to start something, or somebody Googled you and a door closed. Nobody writes for that person. So here. Jump to what you need. None of this is in order. ## When to read this — If you got out last week, this is the wrong guide The first month is documents, a bank account, an address, and a job, in that order, and it is its own thing. That is [Getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison), and if any of it is still unfinished, finish it there first. This picks up once the logistics are handled and the problems stop being logistics. Off paper. Starting something. Somebody's parents. A door that closed because of a press release from your worst year. ## A note on scope I did federal time. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Half of what is below varies by state, by district, by judge, and by profession, and where it does I say so rather than giving you a rule that does not exist. Your conditions (the rules you live under after release) and your probation officer (who supervises you after release) outrank this page. When they conflict with anything here, they win. ## The four things that matter most If you read nothing else: Cheat sheet - **You can ask to end supervision early.** After a year served, a judge can terminate the rest. Most people never find out this is possible, because most officers never bring it up. - **The conviction is permanent.** There is no federal expungement and no sealing. Anybody who tells you otherwise is taking your money. - **Restitution outlasts supervision.** The judgment stays enforceable for twenty years. Supervision ending does not end the debt. - **Tell your PO before they find out.** The gap between self-reporting and getting caught is the single biggest thing you control. ## The twelve parts ### [Getting off supervision early](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/ending-supervised-release-early) The statute, the standard, what judges actually look at, and why the answer depends more on your PO than on any legal argument. ### [What actually sends people back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/supervised-release-violations) Missed check-ins, a failed test, a trip nobody approved. Small stuff that stacks, and the one move that turns a paperwork problem into a credibility problem. ### [Expungement, sealing, and pardons](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/federal-expungement-and-pardons) None of the first two exist federally. What a pardon is, what it does not do, and the scam that takes thousands from people coming home. ### [Your name online](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/getting-news-articles-off-google) The indictment number is the number the internet remembers. You cannot take the article down, so the job is outranking it, and it takes a year or two. ### [Work, after the first job](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/building-a-career-with-a-record) The bridge job did its work. Three things people get wrong next, and the three-sentence answer to have ready for the rest of your life. ### [Working for yourself](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/starting-a-business-with-a-felony) Payment processors underwrite you like a bank and shut you down after you are already running. Banking, bonding, and getting your PO to sign off. ### [Licenses](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/professional-licenses-with-a-felony) No general rule exists, so do not take one from the internet, including from this page. What to ask the board, and why you ask before you train. ### [Money, over years](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/rebuilding-credit-and-getting-a-mortgage) Rebuilding credit, the identity theft you may not know about yet, why a mortgage is genuinely possible, and the twenty-year life of a restitution judgment. ### [Your rights, and when you get them back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/voting-guns-and-jury-duty) Voting comes back for most people sooner than they think. Firearms do not come back at all. Jury service and passports, plainly. ### [Travel](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/international-travel-with-a-felony) Canada sees your record at the border and turns people around with nonrefundable tickets in hand. The three ways back in, and what Global Entry does. ### [Kids, community, and dating](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/coaching-volunteering-and-dating) The field trip form, the volunteer check, the ways to show up that are not gated. And when to tell somebody you are seeing, which is neither the first message nor the fifth date. ### [Who you are now](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/living-with-the-record) It is the first fact about you for a couple of years, then it is not. The two ways people get stuck, and what the target actually looks like. ## Where this guide starts This one picks up a year or two after the door. The door itself, and the month after it, is [Getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison). What happens on the way in is [Before you go in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report), what happens between the two is [While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like), and the version written for the person on the outside is [For families](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide). Some of this overlaps with Getting out on purpose. That guide covers what you do in the first thirty days. This one covers the same subjects at the scale of years, which is a different problem with different answers. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/ending-supervised-release-early # Getting off supervision early You can ask the court to end supervision before the term is up. Most people never find out this is possible. ## The statute — A judge can end it before the term is up The law is 18 U.S.C. 3583(e)(1). After you have served one year, a judge can terminate the rest of your supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole) if your conduct warrants it and it is in the interest of justice. That is the whole standard. It is vague on purpose, which means what you have actually done matters more than any legal argument. ## Why nobody told you — You have to ask The Judicial Conference tells probation officers to think about recommending early termination for low-risk people who are doing well. Some officers bring it up on their own. Most don't. ## What judges look at — The record is the argument None of this is a surprise: - Steady work. - Stable housing. - No violations, not even small ones. - Restitution paid on schedule. - No new arrests. - Treatment finished, if you had any. - Time served on supervision, usually more than the bare minimum before anyone takes it seriously. ## Start on day one — Build the folder before you need it Start building that record on day one, not in month eleven. Keep pay stubs. Keep your lease. Keep a copy of every restitution payment. When you ask, you want to hand over a folder, not tell a story. ## How to actually do it — Your probation officer first Talk to your probation officer (who supervises you after release) before anything else. Ask what their office looks for and whether they would support it. A motion your PO backs is a different animal than one they oppose. If they are on board, they may file it themselves. If not, you can file on your own or through a lawyer. ## If they say no — No is not permanent Getting told no isn't the end of it. People ask again a year later and get it. The thing that changes between the first ask and the second is another year of the record above. That is the same work either way, so keep doing it. ## Related — The two things that sink this A violation and an unpaid restitution balance are what turn a good early-termination case into a bad one. [What actually sends people back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/supervised-release-violations) covers the first. [Money, over years](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/rebuilding-credit-and-getting-a-mortgage) covers the second. If you are still in the first year and none of this applies yet, the mechanics of supervision itself are in [Supervised release](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release). ### [What actually sends people back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/supervised-release-violations) Not new crimes, mostly. Technical violations, and the gap between telling your PO and getting caught. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/supervised-release-violations # What actually sends people back Not new crimes, mostly. Technical violations, and the gap between telling your PO and getting caught. ## Not what you think — Not new crimes, mostly People picture a return to prison as a new case. Usually it is not. It is a violation (breaking a release rule; can send you back) of the conditions you are already under. - Missed check-ins. - A failed drug test. - Leaving the district without asking. - Hanging around somebody else with a record when your conditions say you can't. - Not reporting a new address or a new job. Small stuff, and it stacks up. ## The pattern — How it actually goes wrong The pattern is almost always the same. Something goes wrong. The person doesn't tell their probation officer (who supervises you after release). The PO finds out on their own. Now it is a credibility problem instead of a paperwork problem, and those are not the same size. ## The one rule — Tell your PO before they find out Every time. The gap between self-reporting and getting caught is enormous, and it is the single biggest thing you control. This is also the thing that decides whether [asking to end supervision early](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/ending-supervised-release-early) is a conversation worth having. A clean record with one self-reported problem in it reads completely differently than a clean record with one concealed one. ### [Expungement, sealing, and pardons](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/federal-expungement-and-pardons) Federal convictions do not go away. There is no expungement, there is no sealing, and the people selling you otherwise are running a scam. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/federal-expungement-and-pardons # Expungement, sealing, and pardons Federal convictions do not go away. There is no expungement, there is no sealing, and the people selling you otherwise are running a scam. ## The short version — Federal convictions don't go away There is no federal expungement for a valid conviction. Courts have carved out narrow exceptions for unlawful arrests and clerical mistakes, and that's it. Sealing isn't a thing either. And there's no federal certificate of rehabilitation like some states have. ## Before you pay anyone — The scam If somebody tells you they can get your federal conviction expunged, they're lying to you. This is one of the most common scams aimed at people coming home, and people spend thousands on it. It is the same shape as the other things people sell you around a federal case, which is why [Prison consultants: myths and facts](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/what-consultants-cannot-sell-you) and [Paying non-lawyers for legal work](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work) exist. ## The only real relief — A presidential pardon It's handled by the Office of the Pardon Attorney at DOJ. You generally have to wait five years after finishing your sentence before you can apply. The process is slow and most applications go nowhere. ## What it does not do — A pardon doesn't erase anything It forgives the conviction. The record stays, and background checks still show it. What it can do is restore rights and clear up licensing problems, which matters enormously for some people and does nothing at all for others. Whether it would do anything for you depends on what you are trying to do, which is mostly a [licensing](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/professional-licenses-with-a-felony) and [rights](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/voting-guns-and-jury-duty) question. ## How to plan around it — Assume it's permanent Plan your life around the conviction being permanent. If something changes later, good. Don't wait on it. ### [Your name online](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/getting-news-articles-off-google) News coverage does not decay. You cannot take it down, but you can push it down, and it takes a year or two. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/getting-news-articles-off-google # Your name online News coverage does not decay. You cannot take it down, but you can push it down, and it takes a year or two. ## The problem — Coverage doesn't decay Nobody goes back to update the article when the case turns out smaller than the press release said. That number from the indictment is the number the internet remembers, even if you pled to a fraction of it. You can't take it down. You can push it down. ## What works — Outranking it That means putting up things you control that rank. Your own site on your own name. A LinkedIn profile you actually fill out. Writing, talks, code, whatever you do. Search engines favor recent, active, and linked. Old articles sit still while you keep moving. ## Expectations — It's a slow project Figure a year or two before the first page of results looks different. Start it anyway, because it compounds and because the alternative is letting a press release from your worst year be the first thing anyone reads. ## The other half — Get ahead of it in person When you tell someone yourself, the search result confirms what they already know. When they find it first, it feels like they caught you. That is the same principle at work in [the disclosure conversation at work](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/building-a-career-with-a-record) and in [telling somebody you're seeing](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/coaching-volunteering-and-dating). Order matters more than wording. ### [Work, after the first job](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/building-a-career-with-a-record) Getting hired is one problem. Building something is a different one, and the conviction stops being the main fact about you sooner than you think. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/building-a-career-with-a-record # Work, after the first job Getting hired is one problem. Building something is a different one, and the conviction stops being the main fact about you sooner than you think. ## Two different problems — The first job is a bridge Getting hired is one problem. Building something is a different one. The first job after prison is usually not a good job. That's fine. What it gives you is recent employment, a reference, and a reason to talk to the next employer about something other than your case. If you are still on the first problem, the disclosure mechanics are in [Work](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony). ## Why it gets easier — Employers care about the last two years After a year or two of steady work, you're in a much better spot than your record alone would suggest. The gap matters less every month. ## Three mistakes — What people get wrong here **They stay too long in the first job out of gratitude.** Loyalty to somebody who took a chance is decent, but eighteen months in you're allowed to want more money. **They keep leading with the conviction.** Early on you disclose because it's coming out anyway. Later, once you've got real recent work history, the conviction is one thing about you instead of the main thing. You still answer honestly when asked. You don't have to open with it forever. **They don't plan for it coming up again.** A new hire will Google you. A client will. A partner's lawyer will run a check before a deal. It's going to resurface every few years for the rest of your life. That's not a crisis, it's just a conversation you should have a short answer ready for. ## The answer — Three sentences Keep it short. What happened, what you did about it, what you're doing now. Then change the subject to the work. ### [Working for yourself](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/starting-a-business-with-a-felony) Nobody runs a background check on the owner. That part is real. Nobody warns you about the payment processor. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/starting-a-business-with-a-felony # Working for yourself Nobody runs a background check on the owner. That part is real. Nobody warns you about the payment processor. ## Why people end up here — Nobody runs a background check on the owner A lot of people end up self-employed after a federal case, and the reason is that simple. That's real, and it's why self-employment is one of the better paths. But there's a set of problems nobody warns you about. ## The big one — Getting paid Payment processors underwrite you like a bank does. Stripe, PayPal, Square, and the rest can and do decline or shut down accounts over a fraud conviction, especially a financial one. It usually happens after you're already running, which is worse than being told no upfront. Read the terms. Expect to end up with a higher-cost processor that specializes in accounts other people won't take. ## Same fight, second round — Business banking Same screening systems as personal banking, same problem, same fix. Credit unions and smaller banks will actually talk to you. If you have not been through the personal version of this yet, it is in [Banking and credit](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/opening-a-bank-account). ## Depends on the trade — Bonding and insurance These get complicated depending on what you do. There's a federal bonding program built for exactly this situation, and most people have never heard of it. Worth looking into before you assume you can't get bonded. ## Depends on your state — Licensing Entirely a function of your state and your industry. That one has [its own part](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/professional-licenses-with-a-felony). ## While you're on paper — You need your PO's approval Self-employment gets more scrutiny than a W-2 job, because it's harder to verify income. Expect to hand over books. Some conditions (the rules you live under after release) restrict the kind of business you can run, especially if your case involved money or computers. Ask before you build something, not after. ### [Licenses](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/professional-licenses-with-a-felony) Every state and every profession handles this differently. A five minute phone call to the board can save you a year. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/professional-licenses-with-a-felony # Licenses Every state and every profession handles this differently. A five minute phone call to the board can save you a year. ## The honest answer — There is no general rule Every state handles this differently and every profession within a state handles it differently. Don't take a general rule from the internet on this, including from this page. ## Usually true — What tends to hold Many boards have a formal process for people with convictions instead of a flat ban. Many look at whether the offense relates to the work. Many care more about time passed and what you've done since than about the conviction itself. What's also true: some fields are effectively closed, and applications take months. ## The move — Call the board first Start early. Call and ask what their process is before you spend a year training for something. Ask specifically whether they've licensed people with felony convictions and what that took. A five minute phone call can save you a year. ## Related — The one thing that can move a board Licensing is one of the few areas where [a pardon](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/federal-expungement-and-pardons) does concrete work, because it can clear a bar the board is applying rather than one the record itself creates. That is a long shot and a long timeline, and it is not a reason to delay the phone call. ### [Money, over years](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/rebuilding-credit-and-getting-a-mortgage) Credit takes three to five years. A mortgage is possible. And restitution outlasts supervision by a long way. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/rebuilding-credit-and-getting-a-mortgage # Money, over years Credit takes three to five years. A mortgage is possible. And restitution outlasts supervision by a long way. ## Three to five years — Credit Rebuilding takes three to five years to do properly. A secured card paid off monthly is the standard start. After a year or so you can usually convert it or qualify for a regular card. Don't chase anything advertised as credit repair. ## Do this early — Pull all three reports and read them Two things commonly happened while you were gone. Accounts went to collections, and sometimes somebody used your identity. That second one is more common for incarcerated people than most realize. ## Genuinely possible — A mortgage It's mostly about time, income, and credit score, not the conviction. FHA loans don't have a blanket bar for most convictions. Lenders care about the last two years of income and payment history. People do buy houses after federal cases. ## This surprises people — Restitution outlasts supervision The judgment stays enforceable for twenty years from entry or from your release, whichever is later, under 18 U.S.C. 3613. Supervision ending doesn't end the debt. While you're on paper, payments are usually a condition. After that, collection moves to the U.S. Attorney's financial litigation unit. They can put liens on property and take your tax refunds through the Treasury Offset Program. ## If your income drops — Ask, don't fall behind Keep paying, keep records, and if your income drops enough to matter, ask to have the schedule looked at instead of just falling behind. A long record of steady payment is what any later argument rests on, including [an early termination motion](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/ending-supervised-release-early). The first-year mechanics of the same debt are in [Money and restitution](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/paying-restitution-after-release). ### [Your rights, and when you get them back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/voting-guns-and-jury-duty) Voting depends on your state. Guns are off the table. Jury service is barred, and a passport is usually fine. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/voting-guns-and-jury-duty # Your rights, and when you get them back Voting depends on your state. Guns are off the table. Jury service is barred, and a passport is usually fine. ## Depends on your state — Voting A couple of states never take it away at all. Most give it back when you walk out of the facility. Some wait until supervision ends. A few make you take an extra step. Look up your own state, because people assume they can't vote when they can. ## Treat as permanent — Guns are off the table Federal law bars possession after a felony conviction, and that includes firearms in a house you live in. There's a restoration process on the books that Congress hasn't funded since 1992, so it isn't a real option. Courts have been fighting about how this applies to non-violent cases, and some of that is unsettled. None of it is settled enough for you to act on. Talk to a lawyer if you're curious, and until then treat this as permanent. This is one of the fastest ways back to prison and it's not worth testing. ## Barred, with a caveat — Jury service Federal jury service is barred by a felony conviction unless your civil rights get restored. State rules vary. ## Usually fine — A passport Generally obtainable. A narrow set of drug trafficking convictions can block one. Getting the passport is a separate question from being allowed to travel, which is [the next part](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/international-travel-with-a-felony). ### [Travel](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/international-travel-with-a-felony) You can travel once supervision ends. Canada is the one that catches people, and it catches them at the airport. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/international-travel-with-a-felony # Travel You can travel once supervision ends. Canada is the one that catches people, and it catches them at the airport. ## While you're on paper — Permission first Leaving your district needs permission. Leaving the country needs more than permission and often gets denied. After supervision ends, you can travel. Other countries are a different story. ## The one that catches people — Canada Canada treats a criminal record as grounds to refuse entry, and they see your record at the border. You can become admissible again. There are three routes: automatically, after enough time has passed for a single lesser offense; by applying for criminal rehabilitation; or by getting a temporary permit for one trip. All of it takes paperwork and lead time. Showing up at the border and hoping is how people get turned around at the airport with a nonrefundable ticket. ## Generally easier — Mexico and Europe Mostly less trouble. Some countries ask, some don't, and rules change. ## Usually denied — Global Entry and TSA PreCheck Both are usually denied with a felony conviction, though it depends on the offense and how long ago. ## The rule — Check before you book Every time, for the first several years. Getting a passport is a separate question and mostly a simpler one. That is in [Your rights, and when you get them back](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/voting-guns-and-jury-duty). ### [Kids, community, and dating](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/coaching-volunteering-and-dating) Coaching, chaperoning, scouts. Almost all of it runs a background check. And you have to tell the people you date. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/coaching-volunteering-and-dating # Kids, community, and dating Coaching, chaperoning, scouts. Almost all of it runs a background check. And you have to tell the people you date. ## Nobody writes about this — The volunteer background check This one lands harder than losing a job. Coaching your kid's team. Chaperoning a field trip. Volunteering at the school. Scouts. Almost all of it runs a background check, and a lot of it will come back no. ## What sometimes works — Talk to a person, not a form There isn't a clean fix. What sometimes works is talking to a person instead of filling out a form. A coach, a principal, a troop leader. Explain it upfront and let them decide. Some will say yes. Some won't, and it won't be about you specifically, it'll be about a policy they didn't write. ## The part that counts — Show up in the ways that aren't gated Be in the stands every game. Drive the carpool. Help at home. Your kid notices who's there way more than who's got a title. ## Dating — You have to tell people The only real questions are when and how. Not the first message. Not the fifth date either, because by then it feels like something you were hiding. A few dates in, once there's something real but before anybody's in deep, works for most people. Say it plainly, keep it short, and don't perform shame about it. How you tell someone sets how they take it. If you act like it's a bomb, they'll treat it like one. Some people will walk. That's going to happen and it's not a verdict on you. ## One more moment — Meeting their family Talk about it with your partner first and agree on who says what. Getting surprised in front of somebody's parents is bad for everybody. If you were with somebody through the sentence rather than meeting them after it, that is a different set of problems, and they are in [Staying together](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/staying-together-through-a-sentence). ### [Who you are now](https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/living-with-the-record) For the first couple of years it is the first fact about you. It fades, slower than you want, and mostly because of what you build. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/life-after-federal-prison/living-with-the-record # Who you are now For the first couple of years it is the first fact about you. It fades, slower than you want, and mostly because of what you build. ## The first couple of years — It's the first fact about you It's in every job interview, every date, every awkward pause when somebody asks what you've been up to. ## Then it isn't — That fades Slower than you want, and it does fade. At some point it turns into a thing that happened instead of the thing you are. The switch is mostly about how much other stuff you've built since. ## Two ways to get stuck — What to watch for One is letting it become your whole identity, even in a good way. Being the guy who went to prison and came back is a story, and it's yours to tell, but it's a small box to live in. The other is pretending it didn't happen. That takes energy forever and it breaks badly when somebody finds out. ## The target — Somewhere in between A person who did a thing, paid for it, learned from it, and is now busy with something else. Most people get there. It just takes longer than anybody tells you. ## That's the guide — Most people get there It just takes longer than anybody tells you. Ask about early termination, keep paying the restitution, tell your PO before they find out, and spend the rest of it building the thing that eventually outranks the article. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Once%20you%27re%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq # Questions people actually ask Answered plainly. Most of these came to me in messages from men about to go in, which is why some of them are blunt and some of them are things nobody says out loud. Some of the answers are short because the honest answer is short. Where I do not know something, I say so rather than guessing, and those questions are marked instead of quietly left out. Sixteen sections. Nobody reads an FAQ in order, so use the list rather than the buttons if you came here with one question. ## Scope — Who this is from and what it covers Men's facilities. I did eighteen months at a low. Where an answer is secondhand, differs by security level, or rests on a number that moves, it says so in the answer. Women's facilities differ enough in social structure that answering from this vantage point would be guessing, so I do not. Be skeptical of anyone who claims to cover both without having done both. This is the fast version. The reasoning underneath most of these answers is in the guides: [before you go in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report), [while you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like), [doing time at a low](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison), and [getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison). ## Three things before you start Cheat sheet - **Short answers are not dismissive.**"Yes" is the whole answer to a lot of these, and padding it would make it less useful. - **Marked questions have no answer yet.** Where I do not know, the question stays on the page with a tag on it rather than disappearing. If you know one, send it. - **Numbers move.** Commissary caps, phone allowances, and sanction ranges get revised. Where a figure is cited, your facility handbook and current policy are the authority over me. ## Pick the one you came for ### [1. Body and hygiene](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/showers-hygiene-and-haircuts) Soap, showers, haircuts, and the discovery that nobody in the building is looking at your body the way you assume they are. ### [2. Cellies and living space](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/cellmates-bunks-and-property) Who you sleep next to, how much of that you control, and what to do when it goes wrong. Less than you would like, and more than you expect. ### [3. Sex, loneliness, and the body](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/sex-and-loneliness) The fear almost everyone arrives with, and the questions nobody wants to ask out loud. Both answered plainly, because the television version is wrong. ### [4. Drugs and contraband](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/drugs-contraband-and-drug-tests) What is available, what it costs you, and what happens when it lands on you. Prison is not the rehab facility society seems to think it is. ### [5. Phones, mail, and communication](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/phone-calls-mail-and-email) Three hundred minutes, five cents a minute, and every word of it recorded. How contact actually works, and the specific ways it breaks. ### [6. Money](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/money-commissary-and-ifrp) The commissary cap, the store, two-for-one, and IFRP. There is no cash in here, which is why nearly everything you do economically becomes a debt. ### [7. Food](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/food-and-special-diets) Medical diets, religious diets, spreads, and how people cook without a stove. ### [8. Fights, safety, and conflict](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/fights-safety-and-protective-custody) The thing you are most afraid of is not the thing most likely to happen to you. What the real risks are, and what stepping into one costs. ### [9. Getting in trouble](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/shots-the-hole-and-losing-good-time) Shots, hearings, the hole, and how much good time a bad twenty seconds costs. Most of these numbers are set by regulation, so they are knowable in advance. ### [10. Staff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/case-managers-counselors-and-cos) Your case manager is the most consequential person in the building for you. Who does what, how to ask, and what to do when nobody answers. ### [11. Time and release](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/release-date-halfway-house-and-rdap) How much of the sentence you will actually serve, how the halfway house referral works, and which sentence-reduction pitches to hang up on. ### [12. Medical](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/medical-dental-and-psych-meds) Sick call, dental, psychology, and medications. Manage your expectations down and your documentation up. ### [13. Family and visits](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/visits-kids-and-funerals) Getting people approved, what your kids should be told, and what happens when someone dies while you are in. ### [14. Work and programs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/jobs-unicor-and-classes) You will be assigned a job whether or not you find one first. Which ones are worth having, and why programming is not really optional. ### [15. Identity and difference](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/age-religion-language-and-citizenship) Being the only one of something in the building. Age, language, religion, disability, and the citizenship question that changes everything. ### [16. The head stuff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/boredom-depression-and-coping) The part with the fewest procedures and the most weight. Stay busy is not a cliche here. It is the entire method. ## Ask it and it gets added Nearly every question on this page arrived in my inbox first. If yours is not here, send it. Answers are free, and the good ones end up on this page for the next person. These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/showers-hygiene-and-haircuts # Body and hygiene Soap, showers, haircuts, and the discovery that nobody in the building is looking at your body the way you assume they are. ## Keeping clean — The daily part ### Where do I go to take care of myself? The shower. If you meant the other thing, it is the same answer, and the rules around it are in [sex, loneliness, and the body](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/sex-and-loneliness#where-to-take-care-of-that). ### How often should I shower? Every day. ### How often should I wash my stuff? Every chance you get. ### Do I need shower shoes? Yes. You are doing the shower stuff in there. So is everyone else. ### Can I shave? With what? Yes. Razors are on commissary (the prison store). ### How do I get more toilet paper? Buy it if commissary carries it. Otherwise, newspaper. ### What if I need the bathroom and there's a line? Treat it like any other line. Ask. “Hey, is it cool if I go, I'm about to pop” works fine and nobody will make it weird. ### What happens if I get lice, scabies, or foot fungus? No answer yet I have no idea. It never came up for me and I am not going to invent an answer. If you know the answer to this one, [send it to me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20answer) and I will write it up and credit nobody, which is how everyone seems to prefer it. ## Supplies — Who pays for the soap ### Do I get my own soap, toothpaste, and deodorant, or do I have to buy it? You buy it at commissary. If you cannot afford commissary, tell your counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs) you are indigent and they will issue you the basics. This is a real process and you should use it rather than going without. When you first arrive, your car (your social group inside) will give you a care package. ### What do I do until my first commissary? Live off that care package. It exists for exactly this reason and accepting it is normal. If your car does not give you one, you will need to find someone who is genuinely kind. They exist. What you should not do is accept an unsolicited kit from a stranger outside that process. [The debt chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people) covers why. ### Can I get a haircut? Who cuts it and what does it cost? Yes. There are dedicated barbers, some of them good. At my facility it was five or ten dollars depending on who was cutting. That is one line item in a whole service economy, and the going rates for the rest of it are in [the economy](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles). ### What do I do about my hair if nobody there cuts hair like mine? Suffer. It grows back. ## The body itself — Fitness, size, and equipment ### Can I work out? Where? Is there weight equipment? Yes, and usually. Rec (recreation time) and the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) are where it happens. ### What if I'm out of shape, overweight, or disabled? Nobody cares what you look like. This is not a place where anyone is evaluating your physique. If you have a genuine disability, medical handles accommodations: lower bunk pass, lower tier, mobility equipment. Get it documented early rather than fighting for it later. The policy behind that is [PS 5200.06, Management of Inmates With Disabilities](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5200-06-management-of-inmates-with-disabilities), and citing it in writing works better than describing your knee to somebody at mainline. ### What about my CPAP, insulin, hearing aid, or prosthetic? All available. Medical will handle it. Arrive with documentation rather than a description. The rest of how medical actually works is in [the medical section](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/medical-dental-and-psych-meds). ### [Cellies and living space](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/cellmates-bunks-and-property) Who you sleep next to, how much of that you control, and what to do when it goes wrong. Less than you would like, and more than you expect. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/cellmates-bunks-and-property # Cellies and living space Who you sleep next to, how much of that you control, and what to do when it goes wrong. Less than you would like, and more than you expect. ## The other guy — When your cellie is the problem ### What do I do if I hate my cellie? Go to your rep (the guy who speaks for a car) and tell them. Not the officer. This is the first instinct people from the outside get wrong, and going to staff about a housing problem your own car (your social group inside) could have quietly solved is the kind of thing that follows you. ### What's a rep? The person who speaks for a car. They handle its business with the other groups and, informally, with the rest of the unit. They are not a shot caller (an inmate who runs a group) and it is not a formal office. Think spokesperson and organizer rather than boss. The role is soft at a camp, more defined at a low, and sharper as security goes up. Practically: if you have a problem with another inmate, you take it to the rep and not to the person themselves. ### What if my cellie steals from me? Tell your rep. Understand what you are starting, though. Theft is the one thing the population takes seriously on its own, and it is [the closest thing to an absolute rule in the building](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/unwritten-rules). Do not raise it unless you are sure. ### What if my cellie won't shower? Tell them they need to shower. This is a normal conversation and it is yours to have. ### What if my cellie is a sex offender? Your cellie will almost always be someone from your own car. If they are not, you probably will not be cellies for long unless there is an explicit understanding and everyone has bought in. The federal system is self-policing on this and even the officers know how it works. ### What if my cellie is doing something that'll get me a shot? It does not usually work that way. Shots (a disciplinary write-up) generally land on the person who did the thing. That is not a guarantee, and a locker is treated as yours, so what is in yours is yours. But the nightmare scenario where you eat their write-up is not the normal outcome. ## The bunk — Where you sleep and what fits ### Can I request a specific cellie? Yes, and unit counselors are usually reasonable about it. Ask in writing, ask once, and ask when nothing is on fire. [How to ask for anything and actually get it](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/case-managers-counselors-and-cos#how-to-ask) applies here as much as anywhere. ### Do I get a top or bottom bunk? Can I ask for bottom? Ask your cellie first. If you genuinely need a bottom bunk, a bottom bunk pass is obtainable through medical with enough persistence. ### How much property am I allowed to have? Whatever fits in your locker. That is the working rule and it is enforced by physics before anyone enforces it by policy. Buy accordingly. ### What happens to my property when I transfer? It goes with you. Good question, and the answer is better than people expect. ### How do I sleep with the lights and the noise? I lived on earplugs. The lights are reasonable at night. ### Can I put up pictures? Yes. What your people can actually send you is a separate question with real rules attached, and those are in [PS 5265.14, Correspondence](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-14-correspondence). ### [Sex, loneliness, and the body](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/sex-and-loneliness) The fear almost everyone arrives with, and the questions nobody wants to ask out loud. Both answered plainly, because the television version is wrong. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/sex-and-loneliness # Sex, loneliness, and the body The fear almost everyone arrives with, and the questions nobody wants to ask out loud. Both answered plainly, because the television version is wrong. ## The fear — The one everybody arrives with ### Am I going to get raped? Almost certainly not. This is the fear nearly everyone arrives with and it is mostly a product of television. It is not what a federal low is. You should still know that PREA (the Prison Rape Elimination Act) exists, that every facility is required to have a reporting process, and that it is posted. You will very likely never need it. ### What if someone hits on me? Up to you, but it is best not to attract that kind of attention. I went with it and gave gentle pushback. That worked. ## The practical part — What actually goes on ### Where do I go to take care of that? The shower. Not in front of your cellie, and never anywhere staff can see you. That is indecent exposure and it is a shot (a disciplinary write-up). ### Is there sex in there? Yes. Consensual, and very privately. ### Can I get porn? No. Compound pictures exist. The reason it is a flat no rather than a facility preference is statutory: the Bureau cannot spend appropriated funds distributing sexually explicit material, so publications get rejected on the way in. [PS 5266.11, Incoming Publications](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5266-11-incoming-publications) is the mechanism. ### Can I have a relationship with someone in there? It happens all the time. High drama, universally. ### What about staff? Does that happen? Yes. [Here is a federal indictment of a correctional officer at the facility I was at](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/federal-indictment-charges-thomson-prison-correctional-officer-engaging-sexual-acts). I was there with those inmates, and that same officer once asked me if I wanted to work in the kitchen. Note which way that runs. There is no version of this where the inmate comes out ahead, and it is worth reading alongside [can I be friends with a CO](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/case-managers-counselors-and-cos#friends-with-a-co). ### How do people handle being celibate for years? No answer yet People ask me this constantly and I do not have an answer I would stand behind. I did eighteen months, which is not years, and what worked for me was mostly not thinking about it. If you know the answer to this one, [send it to me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20answer) and I will write it up and credit nobody, which is how everyone seems to prefer it. ## If it applies to you — Gay and trans inmates ### What if I'm gay or trans? Socially, expect to be sorted in with the sex offender (convicted of a sex crime; bottom of the pecking order) population regardless of what your offense actually is. That is not a Bureau designation and it is not a rule anyone wrote down. It is how the population sorts itself. It is unfair and it is what happens. Practically, it means the coexistence rules apply to you rather than being something you observe about other people. [The low security guide covers what those actually look like](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison). Separately: the Bureau has policy governing housing and programming for inmates with gender dysphoria ([PS 5260.01](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5260-01-management-of-inmates-with-gender-dysphoria)), and PREA protections apply. Those are real and worth knowing about. They also do not change the social dynamic above. ### [Drugs and contraband](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/drugs-contraband-and-drug-tests) What is available, what it costs you, and what happens when it lands on you. Prison is not the rehab facility society seems to think it is. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/drugs-contraband-and-drug-tests # Drugs and contraband What is available, what it costs you, and what happens when it lands on you. Prison is not the rehab facility society seems to think it is. ## What's around — The compound pharmacy ### Should I smoke K2? No. ### What is K2 and why is it everywhere? K2 (a dangerous smuggled synthetic drug) is marketed as synthetic marijuana and is probably closer to rat poison. It is disgusting, it is addictive, and it is cheap for whoever is selling it, which is why it is everywhere. It adds up fast, both in what it costs you and in what it does to people. It is the most common cause of medical emergencies you will see inside. ### Can I drink? What's hooch? Sure. Hooch (a shared meal built from commissary) is toilet booze. ### What if I'm in recovery and it's everywhere? I am sorry. Prison is not the rehab facility society seems to think it is, and the availability inside will surprise you. What is there: NA and AA groups run at most facilities, and RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) if you qualify. Neither is what you would get outside. Both are better than nothing and both give you somewhere to be. ### Can I get my regular prescription in there? Partly. There is a formulary of approved medications and some room around the edges. Stimulants are not on it. If you have been on something long-term, it is not especially abusable, and they are not giving it to you, have your people [contact me](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) and I will walk them through the steps that actually make an institution listen. ## When it lands on you — Testing, phones, and getting paid in the wrong currency ### Do they drug test? How often? Yes, at random, maybe once a week or so, hitting something like five percent of a unit. Some people are on lists and get tested far more. ### What happens if I fail a UA? I never had one, so this is secondhand. It is a shot (a disciplinary write-up), with the usual sanctions attached: good time, privileges, potentially the SHU (solitary). Enforcement is uneven. Officers know perfectly well that tests get gamed and their appetite for pursuing it varies by facility and by day. ### What happens if I get caught with a phone? From the insideThis is only what I saw when I was at FCI Thomson from 2024-2025. You go to the SHU for at least thirty days and you get a shot. You will likely lose phone privileges for at least thirty days on top of that. The written version is worse than the practical one. A phone is charged as possession of a hazardous tool, code 108, which sits in the greatest severity tier. Under 28 C.F.R. 541.3, that tier carries a good conduct time disallowance of ordinarily 27 to 41 days, disciplinary segregation of up to twelve months, and loss of privileges. A disciplinary transfer is a live possibility on top of all of it. Run that arithmetic against whatever the call was worth. [What conflict costs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-a-fight-costs) does the same math for a different twenty seconds. ### What if I'm clean and someone plants something on me? Chances are extremely low. This is a fear, not a pattern. ### What if someone owes me and pays me in dope? Don't take it. You have just converted a money problem into a contraband problem, and the sanction for the contraband is now yours rather than theirs. Tell them to pay you on the books next commissary. This is one specific case of a general rule, and the general rule is [the debt chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people). ### [Phones, mail, and communication](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/phone-calls-mail-and-email) Three hundred minutes, five cents a minute, and every word of it recorded. How contact actually works, and the specific ways it breaks. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/phone-calls-mail-and-email # Phones, mail, and communication Three hundred minutes, five cents a minute, and every word of it recorded. How contact actually works, and the specific ways it breaks. ## The phone — Minutes, limits, and the meter ### How many minutes do I get? Three hundred a month, and four hundred in November and December. Individual calls cut off at fifteen minutes, and after each one you wait thirty minutes before you can place another. Some institutions layer a daily cap on top of that. Your facility handbook is the authority on yours, and it is one of the few sections of that document worth reading on day one. The monthly allowance has moved more than once in the last several years. Treat the number above as current-but-checkable rather than carved anywhere. ### Why did my call cut off mid-sentence? You hit a limit: per call, per day, or per month. There are warnings before it happens. ### What happens if I burn through all my phone minutes? Can I just buy more? Unofficially, yes, and men who do not use theirs sell the remainder. It is one of the most common transactions on the compound. There is measurable risk in it. Use of another inmate's account is a prohibited act, so understand that you are trading a shot (a disciplinary write-up) for a phone call before you do it. What the rest of that market looks like is in [the economy](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles). ### Are calls recorded? All of them. Absolutely. And they get pulled. ### Can I three-way a call? Don't. It is a prohibited act, the system is specifically listening for it, and it is one of the easier things to get caught doing. Do not discuss it on a recorded line either, which is every line. ### Can I call my lawyer? Does that count against my minutes? You can, and yes, it comes out of your minutes. Your lawyer can also arrange a legal call through the facility, which does not. That route is unmonitored, which is the more important difference. [PS 1315.08, Inmate Legal Activities](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1315-08-inmate-legal-activities) is the policy your lawyer's office should be citing when they set it up. ## The other end — When the call will not go through ### Why can't my mom's phone accept my calls? In my case, because my mom is dead. In yours, most likely because the number is not a real line. The system requires the person answering to press a key to accept the call, and some virtual number services do not pass that keypress through. Google Voice is the usual culprit. There are workarounds and they need to be set up before you go, not after. Have whoever is on the outside read [the phone and messages chapter of the family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-calls-and-messages-work) and test the number before you report. ### What if someone won't accept my calls? Then they will not accept your calls. There is nothing to do about it and it will hurt. ## Everything else — Email, mail, and the internet ### Can I email? What does it cost? It is technically a messaging system but everyone calls it email. Five cents a minute to read, five cents a minute to write. Your side is TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored), their side is CorrLinks (the app families use to message inside), you initiate the contact, and everything is reviewed in both directions before it lands. No attachments, no photos. The rules are annotated in [PS 5265.13](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging). ### Can I get on the internet? No. ### What's a tech service? No answer yet This one came in from a reader and my draft answer got cut off before I finished it, which is a bad reason to publish half of one. I would rather leave it open than guess at what the person asking meant. If you know the answer to this one, [send it to me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20answer) and I will write it up and credit nobody, which is how everyone seems to prefer it. ### [Money](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/money-commissary-and-ifrp) The commissary cap, the store, two-for-one, and IFRP. There is no cash in here, which is why nearly everything you do economically becomes a debt. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/money-commissary-and-ifrp # Money The commissary cap, the store, two-for-one, and IFRP. There is no cash in here, which is why nearly everything you do economically becomes a debt. ## Coming in — How much, and how it arrives ### How much money do I need per month? You can only spend $360 a month at commissary (the prison store) from your own account, so that is the practical ceiling on your own spending. ### What's the commissary limit? $360 per month per shopper. The operative phrase is “per shopper.” Stamps and phone credit generally sit outside the cap, which is part of why stamps (the inmate currency) became the currency in the first place. The figure has held for a while but it is adjusted and it can vary locally. [PS 4500.13, the Trust Fund manual](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4500-13-trust-fund-deposit-fund-manual) is where it lives. ### How does money get to me? MoneyGram or Western Union (how families load money onto the account). There is also a lockbox by mail, which is slower and cheaper. Whoever is sending it should read [the money chapter of the family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/where-the-money-goes) once before they send anything, because the failure modes are all avoidable and all annoying. ### What do I actually buy at commissary? Whatever you want. Food, hygiene, coffee, shoes, a radio. ### Can I send money home? No. ## The gray market — Packs, stores, and interest ### How do I buy someone's pack? Men who do not spend their full limit will shop for you. It is how people get around the cap and it is unremarkable. The mechanics of doing it without creating a problem for yourself are worth an actual conversation rather than a paragraph. [Email me](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) if you are about to do it for the first time. ### What's a store? What's two-for-one? Somebody in every unit sells items on credit, sometimes with a written list. Two-for-one means you take one now and pay back two on your next commissary. That is a hundred percent interest over about a week. If you arrange something like this, make sure what they want back is not something you are already getting anyway. Do not fuck around with this. **Read the debt chapter first** Debt causes more problems inside than anything else, and a two-for-one is the standard way a new arrival takes on their first one without noticing. [Debt](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people) is the long version of this answer. ### Can I gamble? Sure. It is also a prohibited act, and gambling debt is one of the two or three most common ways men end up in a situation they cannot get out of. Do not gamble anything you cannot cover. ## Earning and owing — Pay, and what the Bureau takes back ### Do I get paid for my job? How much? Cents an hour. Not enough to matter, unless you get into UNICOR (the better-paying prison work program), which pays multiples of everything else. ### What if I have no outside support and no money? I am sorry. This is a real position and a lot of men are in it. Get a job inside. Find a hustle: cleaning cells, laundry, whatever you can do. Tell your counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs) you are indigent so you at least get issued hygiene. It is harder than it should be and men do it every day. ### What's IFRP and can I refuse it? The Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. If you owe restitution, fines, or child support, the Bureau takes a share of what comes into your account each month. Your unit team sets the amount at each program review based on what is actually landing in your account. The floor is low (ordinarily $25 a quarter if you are not in UNICOR, and about half your pay if you are), and it climbs from there with your deposits. At my facility it worked out to roughly a sixth of everything coming in. You can refuse. Read the next answer before you do. ### What happens if I refuse IFRP? You go into refusal status, which costs you your FSA (the 2018 law behind earned time credits) benefits along with a list of other privileges. It is a bad trade for almost everyone. The list is not vague. Refusal status means no furloughs, no performance pay above maintenance level, no UNICOR, a commissary spending limit far below the normal one, the lowest housing status, and no community-based programs, which is the halfway house. On top of that, refusal status is one of the conditions that stops you from earning First Step Act credits at all. So the price of not paying $25 a quarter is months. [Run it through the time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) if you want to see the number. ### [Food](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/food-and-special-diets) Medical diets, religious diets, spreads, and how people cook without a stove. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/food-and-special-diets # Food Medical diets, religious diets, spreads, and how people cook without a stove. ## The chow hall — What gets served ### Is the food bad? Depends on the facility. I thought it was generally pretty good, and I am a picky eater. Food quality is one of the most facility-specific things there is, which is why it gets tracked per institution in [the facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) rather than answered once here. ### What if I have a food allergy, diabetes, or celiac? There are medical diets available. Set it up through medical. Get the diagnosis into your record before you report if you can. Arguing for a diet from inside with nothing documented is a much longer project than arriving with paperwork. ### Can I get a religious diet? Yes. Set it up through religious services or the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news). Religious accommodation is one of the few areas of the system with actual teeth behind it, so this is a request that tends to go somewhere. ### What if I'm vegetarian? Set it up through medical. Most mainlines also run a no-flesh option day to day without any paperwork at all. What is approved and how is in [PS 4700.08, the Food Service Manual](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4700-08-food-service-manual), which nearly every warden supplements locally, so the handbook at your facility is the version that governs you. ## Everything else — Feeding yourself ### What do I do if I'm hungry all the time? Eat. Commissary (the prison store) exists, spreads exist, and men will feed you. ### What's a spread? A meal built out of commissary ingredients, usually shared. Ramen as the base, plus whatever anyone contributes. It is the closest thing to a dinner party in there. Being invited to one is also a social event, not just a meal. Bring something. ### How do people cook without a stove? Usually a homemade candle and a steel plate. Microwaves where they exist. ### Can I buy food from kitchen workers? Unofficially, yes. Kitchen access is a real economic position and it is one of the reasons those jobs are wanted. It is also, formally, stolen government property changing hands. Nobody on the compound thinks of it that way and the paperwork does. [The economy](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles) covers what happens when enforcement occasionally shows up. ### [Fights, safety, and conflict](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/fights-safety-and-protective-custody) The thing you are most afraid of is not the thing most likely to happen to you. What the real risks are, and what stepping into one costs. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/fights-safety-and-protective-custody # Fights, safety, and conflict The thing you are most afraid of is not the thing most likely to happen to you. What the real risks are, and what stepping into one costs. ## The odds — What is actually likely to happen to you ### Am I going to get jumped? Probably not. ### How do I get some action? Go to the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). ### Do I need to lift weights to be safe? No. ### What if I'm small, old, or young? I am small and I was fine. Nobody is going to bother an old man. Young is the hard one, because your judgment is the thing most likely to get you hurt and it is also the thing least developed. ## If it comes anyway — Standing in it ### What do I do if someone steps to me? Stand your ground. ### Do I have to fight if I'm challenged? Pretty much. ### What if I've never been in a fight? You may end up in your first one. I did not, and I am five foot five and a corny-ass white dude. So it is not a given. ### What happens if I refuse to fight? Downstream social consequences. Not violence. Standing. Which is a real cost and a survivable one. Before you decide it is not, read what the alternative costs: [what conflict costs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-a-fight-costs) does the arithmetic in days. ### Can I check in or go PC? You can. Understand what it means: you will sit in the SHU (solitary), and if you want to get shipped somewhere else you will refuse to return to the compound three times in thirty-day increments, meaning about ninety days in isolation. Eventually they will send you to another facility. It is a real option and it is an expensive one. Checking in (someone who asked for protective custody) also follows you to the next place. ## Your paperwork — What people find out about you ### What if someone finds out about my case? Depends entirely on your case. For most financial and drug cases, nothing happens. How that first conversation goes, and how to answer it, is in [the role](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/how-to-carry-yourself). ### What if I'm a cop, military, or former prosecutor? Military, you are fine. Law enforcement or prosecution is a genuine safety issue and one of the few real ones. Talk to your attorney about it before sentencing, because it affects designation. That is not a favor you are asking for. It is a documented input to where the Bureau sends you, and the policy is [PS 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification). Raising it after you are designated is much harder than raising it before. ### What if I cooperated? Do your best to avoid getting your paperwork (your PSR and case file) checked. This is a conversation to have with your attorney before sentencing rather than with me afterward, because what ends up in the public record is decided at sentencing. ### Should I get a tattoo? Your call, I am not your mother. Two things to know before you decide: shared needles are a hepatitis C vector and that is not theoretical inside, and tattooing is a prohibited act, so it is a shot (a disciplinary write-up) if you are caught. ### [Getting in trouble](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/shots-the-hole-and-losing-good-time) Shots, hearings, the hole, and how much good time a bad twenty seconds costs. Most of these numbers are set by regulation, so they are knowable in advance. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/shots-the-hole-and-losing-good-time # Getting in trouble Shots, hearings, the hole, and how much good time a bad twenty seconds costs. Most of these numbers are set by regulation, so they are knowable in advance. ## The paperwork — Shots and hearings ### What's a shot? An incident report. Every prohibited act has a code and every code sits in one of four severity tiers, and the tier is what decides what it costs you. Minor ones stop at the UDC (the unit-level hearing for minor write-ups). Anything serious goes to the DHO (the officer who hears serious write-ups), who is the only person who can take your good time. ### What happens at a DHO hearing? You tell them you did not do it and you hope the hearing officer does not care whether you did. You are entitled to a staff representative and to call witnesses, and both are worth requesting in writing even when it feels pointless, because the written record is what any later appeal runs on. ### Can I appeal a shot? There is a formal process. It rarely works and it is still worth doing, because the written record is what makes anything later possible. A DHO decision skips the institution and goes straight to the Regional Director, then to General Counsel. The clock on it is short. [PS 1330.18, the Administrative Remedy Program](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program) is the whole chain, annotated. ### How much good time can I lose? Up to 27 days for a high-severity offense. The top tier is worse. The numbers are set by regulation, at 28 C.F.R. 541.3, and they are worth knowing before you are standing in something: - **Greatest severity, the 100 codes.** Ordinarily 27 to 41 days of good conduct time disallowed, and up to twelve months of disciplinary segregation. Assault, escape, a weapon, a phone. - **High severity, the 200 codes.** Ordinarily 14 to 27 days, and up to six months of segregation. Fighting, drugs, stealing. - **Moderate severity, the 300 codes.** Ordinarily up to 14 days, and up to three months. - **Low severity, the 400 codes.** Ordinarily up to 7 days, and only on a second violation of the same code inside six months. That is the disallowance of the 54 days available to you for that year. Forfeiting good time you have already banked is a separate and harsher sanction that sits on the same table. [The time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) will show you what any of that does to the actual date. ## The hole — Segregation ### What's the hole actually like? It is a unit of cells, usually two beds to a cell. You are in there twenty-three hours a day with an hour out, if you are lucky. None of your property. One book from a cart that already sucks. To shower, three officers escort you, cuffed at the wrists and the ankles. ### Can I get thrown in the hole for nothing? Yes. Pending-investigation placement does not require you to have done anything, and it can last weeks. It also stops your First Step Act credits while you are in there, which is the part nobody mentions. ### What gets you transferred? It is complicated. Disciplinary history, a change in your points, bed space, and decisions that are never explained to you. The points part is at least legible: [PS 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification) is the scoring system, and your case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) can print you your current sheet. ## Officers — When the problem is staff ### What if a CO has it out for me? Avoid them. There is no version of this you win by engaging. ### Can I file on staff? Should I? You can. I do not advise it. Worth separating two things: filing a remedy about your release date, your programming, or your medical care is a tool you should absolutely use. Filing on a staff member for how they treated you rarely gets you what you want and reliably makes you visible in a way you do not want to be. [Working with staff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/dealing-with-staff) is the longer version of why. ### [Staff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/case-managers-counselors-and-cos) Your case manager is the most consequential person in the building for you. Who does what, how to ask, and what to do when nobody answers. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/case-managers-counselors-and-cos # Staff Your case manager is the most consequential person in the building for you. Who does what, how to ask, and what to do when nobody answers. ## The unit team — Who is who ### Who's my case manager and what do they actually do? Your case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) oversees your progress, measured by completed programming, your transfer home, and whether you get put in for a transfer to another facility. They are the most consequential staff member in the building for you. ### What's the difference between a counselor, a case manager, and a unit manager? The counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs) is the go-between for you and administration. The case manager is described above. The unit manager (the boss of your housing unit) supervises both. Together they are your unit team (the staff who run your daily life), and almost everything you will ever need goes through one of the three. ### What's team? A meeting with your case manager where they hand you paperwork generated by a computer system. It is also the only scheduled opportunity you get to ask about your release date and your halfway house referral, so go in with your questions written down. ### Can I talk to the warden? Sure, but realistically only on the chow line. Executive staff walk mainline (main meal service; also when you can flag down staff), and that is the actual access point. It is a thirty-second conversation, so bring one sentence and not a story. ## Getting anything done — Asking, and asking again ### How do I ask for something and actually get it? Bring receipts. In writing, one thing at a time, with the policy reference if you have it. That last part is the whole trick, and it is why [the program statements are annotated on this site](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements). A request that quotes the policy it relies on is a different object than a request that does not. ### What's a cop-out? A written request for informal resolution. It is what you submit before going up the chain. Keep a copy of every one. The formal remedy process will not take you seriously without a record that you asked nicely first, and the whole chain is in [PS 1330.18](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program). ### What if nobody answers my requests? Get used to it, and keep asking anyway, in writing, on a schedule. The written record is the only thing that makes escalation possible later. Your people on the outside can also create pressure that you cannot create from inside. [The family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide) covers how to do that without making you a problem. ## Officers — The people on the floor ### Are the COs going to mess with me? If you follow what I have said elsewhere, not really. ### Can I be friends with a CO? Friendly, to a degree. Friends, no. And being seen in extended private conversation with one creates a problem for you with everybody else. The problem it creates is that people assume you are talking. [Information and trust](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-not-to-say) is about why that assumption is so cheap to form and so expensive to carry. ### [Time and release](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/release-date-halfway-house-and-rdap) How much of the sentence you will actually serve, how the halfway house referral works, and which sentence-reduction pitches to hang up on. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/release-date-halfway-house-and-rdap # Time and release How much of the sentence you will actually serve, how the halfway house referral works, and which sentence-reduction pitches to hang up on. ## The math — What you will actually serve ### How much time will I actually do? If you are earning FSA credits (time off earned through programming), assume about sixty percent of the sentence imposed. That is a planning number, not a promise. [The time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) does it properly with your actual sentence, jail credit, and PATTERN level. ### What's the difference between good time and FSA credits? Good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble) is for everyone. FSA credits are earned by completing programming and come off the back half of your sentence. They stack. The mechanisms differ in a way that matters. Good time is 54 days a year, taken off the sentence itself, and you keep it unless the DHO (the officer who hears serious write-ups) takes it. First Step Act credits do not shorten the sentence. They move you into prerelease custody sooner, meaning halfway house and home confinement, with up to a year of them applied toward the supervised release date. They also come with a gate that good time does not have: your PATTERN (the risk score affecting your credits) score has to be minimum or low for the credits to be applied at all. [Score yourself here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator) before you count on them. ### How do I know my real release date? It is on your paperwork. Get your sentence computation from your case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) and keep a copy. ### What if my sentence computation is wrong? It probably is not. Check it anyway, because when it is wrong nobody else is going to find it. Jail credit is where it usually goes sideways. If you sat somewhere before you were designated, confirm every day of it appears. ## The back end — Halfway house ### What's the halfway house and how do I get more of it? The halfway house (the halfway house before release) is where you serve the end of your sentence, and getting more of it is the single highest-value thing you can do inside. The short version: the referral is supposed to happen at a program review well before your release date (the Bureau's own window is seventeen to nineteen months out), nothing happens unless someone asks, and the cost of a late referral falls entirely on you. Raise it at your first [team meeting](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/case-managers-counselors-and-cos#whats-team). What the place is actually like once you get there is in [getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement), and it surprises people. ### Who decides how long I get in the halfway house? Not your case manager, though they make the recommendation. The referral goes up with the warden's signature and placement depends on the facility having space. ### Can I get moved closer to home? Yes. You can also angle toward a particular area by changing your listed release address to one closer to it. ### How do I get to a camp from a low? If you have camp points, no sex offense, and you were designated to a low anyway, the Bureau most likely just wants to see six months of behavior before moving you. Bed space is the other common holdup. Anyone who offers to sell you a camp placement is selling you nothing. [That one has its own page](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). ## Programs and pitches — RDAP, and the things people sell you ### Can I get RDAP? Is it worth it? You had better have a substance abuse problem documented before you went to prison. That is the gate. It is worth it. RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) is the only program in the system that takes real time off the end (up to a year for eligible inmates with a nonviolent offense) on top of everything else you are earning. [PS 5330.11](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5330-11-psychology-treatment-programs-rdap) is the policy. ### What if I don't have a drug history? If you have a real history and it is not documented, get it into the record before sentencing. That is the window, and it closes, because the PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) cannot be amended afterward. If you do not have one, you do not qualify. Building a history that does not exist means putting false information into a federal record, and it tends to create a bigger problem than the one it solved. ### What's a 2255? Can I get my sentence reduced? Do not bother, and do not listen to anyone who says they can get it for you. The people selling “case reviews” and motion templates to families are running a known pattern, and [there is a whole page on it](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work). If you have a real claim, you need a real lawyer, not a packet. ### Can I get compassionate release? Do not bother, and do not listen to anyone who says they can get it for you. It exists, the criteria are narrow, and the process starts with a request to the warden rather than with a payment to a consultant. [PS 5050.50](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5050-50-compassionate-release-reduction-in-sentence) is what it actually requires. ### [Medical](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/medical-dental-and-psych-meds) Sick call, dental, psychology, and medications. Manage your expectations down and your documentation up. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/medical-dental-and-psych-meds # Medical Sick call, dental, psychology, and medications. Manage your expectations down and your documentation up. ## Getting seen — Sick call and what follows ### How do I see a doctor? Sick call. The process is in your facility handbook. You will mostly see a PA (the medical provider you actually see) rather than a physician, and there is a small copay (the fee for a medical visit) for visits you request yourself. It is two dollars, it is not waived because you are broke, and it should never be the reason you do not go. ### What if they ignore me? They probably will. Keep going. Document every request and every response, because that record is what your family can escalate with from outside. Every unanswered cop-out is evidence. [The remedy process](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program) is one of the places filing genuinely does work, and medical care is the clearest example. ### What if it's an emergency? It is in the handbook. Read that section before you need it. Read it in your first week, when you have nothing else to do, rather than at two in the morning with something happening. ### Can I keep my medications? Not the ones you bring from home. What you can get is whatever is on the formulary, prescribed inside. [The prescription question](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/drugs-contraband-and-drug-tests#prescriptions) covers what happens when the thing you have taken for a decade is not on it. ## The rest of it — Teeth, head, and outside pressure ### What about dental? You will be lucky if a dentist shows up once a month. Handle anything you can before you go. This is the single most common regret I hear. Get the work done while you are still on the outside, even the work you were planning to put off. ### What about mental health, therapy, or psych meds? Psychology services exist. At most you will see a PsyD once a month. Psych medications are hard to get. Set your expectations there and set them now. What holds people together inside is mostly routine and contact, not treatment, and [the head stuff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/boredom-depression-and-coping) is the honest version of that. ### Can my family call about my medical care? They can, and they should. There is less they can do than either of you would like, but a documented outside inquiry creates the one thing staff respond to, which is visibility. [The family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide) covers who to call and in what order, which matters more than what they say. ### [Family and visits](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/visits-kids-and-funerals) Getting people approved, what your kids should be told, and what happens when someone dies while you are in. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/visits-kids-and-funerals # Family and visits Getting people approved, what your kids should be told, and what happens when someone dies while you are in. ## The visiting room — Getting people in ### When can my family visit? Depends on the facility. It is in the handbook, and the approval process takes weeks, so start it before you go. Days, hours, and how crowded the room gets vary enormously by institution. [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) tracks it per place. The rules underneath it are [PS 5267.09](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5267-09-visiting-regulations). ### Why did my visitor get denied? Ask your counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs). The usual causes are an incomplete form or something on their record. Both are fixable and neither gets fixed on its own. [The visiting chapter of the family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-a-visit-is-like) walks the person on the outside through it. ### Can my kids come? Yes. ### Can I hug my partner? Very briefly, at the beginning and end of the visit. ### Can I get married in there? Yes. ## Your kids — What they get told ### Should I tell my kids where I am? Absolutely. ### Will my kids be okay? Mostly it depends on the adults around them. Kids do better when they are told the truth in a way that fits their age and kept in contact. Cover stories collapse, and the collapse is worse than the truth would have been. ## The hard ones — Loss, from inside ### What if my relationship doesn't survive? I am sorry. It happens a great deal and there is not much comfort to offer about it. The practical version: do not spend your minutes on it. [The head stuff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/boredom-depression-and-coping#partner-leaves) is where that one lives. ### What if someone dies while I'm in? The chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news) notifies you, and they generally handle it well. If you are lucky you may get a furlough (a rare temporary authorized absence) for the funeral. It is unlikely. ### Can I go to a funeral? Unlikely. It is not impossible: escorted trips exist and they are rare, expensive for the institution, and denied far more often than granted. Ask anyway. Ask immediately, in writing, and have your family ask from their side at the same time. ### [Work and programs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/jobs-unicor-and-classes) You will be assigned a job whether or not you find one first. Which ones are worth having, and why programming is not really optional. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/jobs-unicor-and-classes # Work and programs You will be assigned a job whether or not you find one first. Which ones are worth having, and why programming is not really optional. ## The job — What you will be doing all day ### Do I have to work? You will be assigned a job if you do not get one yourself. Whether the job involves doing anything varies. Some are ghost jobs, some are shoveling snow. Which is the argument for picking one early rather than being handed one. ### What's a detail? Your work assignment. Food service detail, orderly detail, landscape detail, whatever they have you on. The word does double duty: it is the job and it is the crew you do it with, so “who's on your detail” is asking who you spend your day next to. ### What's the best job? Kitchen. Not because the work is good. Because food is the compound's second currency and the people who touch it first have a position. [The economy](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/stamps-stores-and-hustles) explains why that is worth more than the pay is. ### How do I get into UNICOR? I do not know the mechanism. I do know there is a line. What I can tell you is that UNICOR (the better-paying prison work program) pays multiples of every other job in the building, that people wait a long time for it, and that being in refusal status on [IFRP](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/money-commissary-and-ifrp#refusing-ifrp) disqualifies you outright. ## Programming — Classes, credits, and what they are worth ### Do I have to do programming? Just about, yes. And you want to, because that is what accrues your credits. Programming is the mechanism FSA credits (time off earned through programming) run on, and those credits are the difference between the sentence imposed and the time served. Treat the class schedule as your release date, because it is. ### Can I take real classes? Can I get a degree? Yes, on a facility-by-facility basis. This varies more than almost anything else, so it is a fair question to ask a support group for your specific institution before you assume either way. [They are listed here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). ### Can I get a certification that's worth something outside? Not really. Do the programming anyway, for the credits. Just do not build a release plan on the certificate. [Work, after](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony) covers what actually gets people hired. ### Can I run a business from inside? No. It is a prohibited act, it is one the Bureau takes unusually seriously, and the fact that you can technically do it through a spouse does not make it a good idea for either of you. ### [Identity and difference](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/age-religion-language-and-citizenship) Being the only one of something in the building. Age, language, religion, disability, and the citizenship question that changes everything. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/age-religion-language-and-citizenship # Identity and difference Being the only one of something in the building. Age, language, religion, disability, and the citizenship question that changes everything. ## Standing out — Being the only one ### What if I'm the only guy like me in there? I was. It is weird, and you get used to it faster than you expect. ### What if I don't speak Spanish? That is okay. ### What if I'm autistic, ADHD, or have a learning disability? I am autistic and ADHD and had been on stimulants for twenty years going in. You will not get those inside. I survived it. You can too. What is worth doing: get the diagnosis documented before you report, and read [PS 5200.06](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5200-06-management-of-inmates-with-disabilities) so you know what accommodations actually exist to ask for. Neither of those gives you your prescription back. Both make the rest of it easier to argue. The long version, since this is the one question here I can answer from the inside: [federal prison if you're autistic](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/if-you-are-autistic). ### What if I'm 70 years old? Find a new hobby. Nobody is going to bother you. ### What if I'm 21? Oh boy. You are the group most likely to make an expensive mistake in the first month. Say less than you want to and copy whoever the quietest respected man on the unit is. ## Faith — Religious services ### What if I'm not religious? Should I go to services anyway? Your choice. Plenty of men go for the room and the quiet rather than the religion, and nobody minds. ### What if I'm Muslim, Jewish, or Native? There are religious services for every faith, and religious accommodation is one of the few areas of the system with actual teeth behind it. Diet, articles, and time to observe are all things the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news) can approve, and a written request that names the observance tends to go somewhere. ## Citizenship — The one that changes the whole sentence ### What if I'm not a US citizen? Your sentence is a different sentence than the one the man next to you is serving, and almost nobody explains that at sentencing. Four things change: - **No camp.** Deportable alien is a Public Safety Factor under [PS 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification), which puts a floor under your security level no matter how good your points are. - **Credits you earn but cannot use.** If there is a final order of removal against you, you still earn FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for your programming, and you cannot apply them to early release. The work counts and the clock does not move. - **No halfway house, no home confinement.** An immigration detainer (a hold from another jurisdiction) generally takes community placement off the table, and it takes the RDAP year off the table too. - **You do not walk out.** At the end of the term you go to ICE custody rather than to the street. None of that is negotiable from inside. All of it is worth an immigration lawyer's attention before sentencing, alongside your criminal attorney, because the immigration consequence and the plea are the same decision even when they are handled by two different people. ### [The head stuff](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/boredom-depression-and-coping) The part with the fewest procedures and the most weight. Stay busy is not a cliche here. It is the entire method. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/boredom-depression-and-coping # The head stuff The part with the fewest procedures and the most weight. Stay busy is not a cliche here. It is the entire method. ## The method — There is only really one ### How do I not lose my mind? Stay busy. ### How do I do time without counting days? Stay busy and accept reality. ### What do I do when I get bad news and can't do anything about it? Find a way to get busy. This is the answer to three different questions on this page and it is not laziness on my part. It is the only lever you have, and the men who did their time worst were the ones who kept looking for a better one. ### What do people do all day, really? Just about anything to stay busy. I played basketball as much as I could, walked the track, and helped people. The dominant experience is not danger. It is boredom and repetition, and [your time](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/what-the-days-are-like) is the long version of what a year of that does to a person. ### Does it get easier? Yes, over time. Find a routine and find things to do. ## The weight — The questions I am worst at ### How do I handle it if my wife or girlfriend leaves? Try not to burn all your phone minutes stressing about it. That sounds cold and it is the most useful thing I know. The calls do not fix it, they cost you the contact you have left with everyone else, and the month ends either way. ### What if I get depressed? Put in for psychology and understand what you are going to get, which is a PsyD once a month at best and medication that is hard to come by. [The medical section](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/medical-dental-and-psych-meds#mental-health) is the honest version. Then do the unglamorous things, because they are what actually carry people: a job that fills the day, a standing time on the track, a routine you keep whether or not you feel like it, and contact with someone outside on a schedule rather than when you are at your lowest. If it goes past that (if you are thinking about hurting yourself) tell staff. Say the words. The response is clumsy and it is a response, and there is no version of that where waiting is better. ### Is it normal to feel nothing? No answer yet People ask me this and I do not have a good answer for it. I know it is common, because it comes up constantly in my inbox. I do not know what to tell you to do about it, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. If you know the answer to this one, [send it to me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20answer) and I will write it up and credit nobody, which is how everyone seems to prefer it. ### Is it normal to cry? No answer yet Yes. That much I can tell you. Everything past that (where, in front of whom, what it costs you socially) I have not written down in a way I would stand behind yet. If you know the answer to this one, [send it to me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20answer) and I will write it up and credit nobody, which is how everyone seems to prefer it. ### [While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like) These are the answers. The guide is the reasoning underneath them: the role, cars, the unwritten rules, debt, information, staff, conflict, the economy, and doing the time. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=FAQ%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist # Thirty things, ranked Ten for each stage, ordered by what getting them wrong actually costs you. Two patterns worth noticing before you start. Almost none of this is about danger. It is about paperwork, sequencing, and asking. And nearly all of it is free, which means the expensive mistakes in this system are the ones nobody charges you to avoid. ## Scope — Who this is from Men's facilities. I did eighteen months at a low. The longer version of every item here is in the guides, and each list links back to the chapter it came from. If you only have five minutes, read the one for the stage you are actually in. These are deliberately not a curriculum. ## Pick your stage ### [1. Before you go](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-before-you-report) Ten things, ranked by what getting them wrong costs you. Every one of these has a deadline, and none of them can be done from inside. ### [2. While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-while-you-are-inside) Ten things. Notice how few of them are about danger and how many are about paperwork. ### [3. After you get out](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-after-you-get-out) Ten things. The first month is where most of the damage gets done, and almost all of it is sequencing. Thirty items is the short form. [The FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq) answers the other hundred and fifty questions one at a time, and the guides ([before you go in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report), [while you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like), [getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison)) are where the reasoning lives. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Checklist%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-before-you-report # Before you go Ten things, ranked by what getting them wrong costs you. Every one of these has a deadline, and none of them can be done from inside. ## In order of what it costs you — The ten 1. **Fix your PSR before sentencing** After sentencing it cannot be amended. A correction gets stapled next to the error and the error stays, and everything downstream keeps reading it: your points, your custody level, your programming, your RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) eligibility. Your lawyer is reading it for the sentence. Read it (the report that follows you the whole sentence) yourself for everything else. 2. **Turn off two-factor and hand someone real access** Every recovery flow assumes you have a phone. You will not have a phone. Print recovery codes, give somebody actual access to your password manager rather than a promise of access, and assume the person holding it becomes unreachable. Cost of skipping it: months of your life after release, spent on hold. [Your digital life](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-accounts-back) is what that actually looks like. 3. **Write the handoff document** Accounts, contacts, deadlines, what they are authorized to decide without asking you, your sentence math, and the halfway house timeline with the policy cite. You will not be able to look anything up inside. They can. That is the entire reason it exists. 4. **Get your substance history documented, if it is real** RDAP is the largest single sentence reduction most people can get, and eligibility is verified against your PSR. Before sentencing is the window, and it closes. If it is not real, you do not qualify, and building a history that does not exist creates a bigger problem than it solves. 5. **Ask the judge for recommendations** Facility or region, RDAP, and permission to self-surrender (reporting to prison on your own). They are free, routinely granted, and carry some weight at designation (which prison you're assigned to). They are also not placements. Nobody can guarantee you a camp, and [anyone charging you for one](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison) is selling something they do not control. 6. **Handle medical and dental now** Get the procedure done, get prescriptions documented, get records in writing. Care inside is slower and narrower, and a dental problem you could fix in an afternoon becomes a months-long process. 7. **Execute a power of attorney and sort the money** Signature authority, autopay on anything whose lapse cascades, and a decision about what gets cancelled rather than carried. 8. **Test the money and phone channels before you need them** Have your people do a small deposit so you both know it works. And test the phone number they will be answering. The system requires a keypress to accept, and some virtual numbers do not pass it through. Google Voice is the usual failure. 9. **Start the visiting list now** Approval means forms, a background check, and weeks of waiting. Starting after you arrive is how families lose their first few months of visits. 10. **Run your own points** Classification is a scored system, not a judgment call. [Calculate it yourself](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) so you know what to expect before the letter arrives, and so you can recognize a sales pitch when you hear one. Every item here is a paragraph standing in for a chapter. The chapters are in [what to expect](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/before-you-report), which walks the same ground in order, from the presentence report to the door. ### [While you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-while-you-are-inside) Ten things. Notice how few of them are about danger and how many are about paperwork. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Checklist%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-while-you-are-inside # While you're in Ten things. Notice how few of them are about danger and how many are about paperwork. ## In order of what it costs you — The ten 1. **Do your intake assessments in week one** The needs and risk assessments are what make you eligible to earn FSA credits (time off earned through programming). Nobody will chase you to complete them. Every week you wait is time off your sentence you simply do not get. 2. **Ask about halfway house at your first team meeting** Not your second. If your sentence is short the referral window may already be open when you walk in. Nothing happens until someone asks, no metric attaches to anyone doing it on time, and the whole cost of a late referral lands on you. I did not push. It cost me most of a year in home confinement I was eligible for: the most expensive mistake I made, and it was free to avoid. 3. **Answer the paperwork question plainly** Day one, someone asks what you are in for. What is being established is whether you have a sex offense. Name your offense briefly, without inflating it and without going vague. Vagueness is the only wrong answer. [The role](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/how-to-carry-yourself) covers how that conversation actually runs. 4. **Do not go into IFRP refusal** Refusal status costs you your FSA benefits and a list of other things. You save some money and lose months. [The full list of what it costs](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq/money-commissary-and-ifrp#refusing-ifrp) is worth reading before you decide. 5. **Never be alone with staff** Extended private conversation with an officer reads as informing. That needs no evidence, travels faster than any correction, and is close to impossible to walk back. Bring someone from your car (your social group inside). Not for protection: for a witness. Pleasant, brief, in the open. 6. **Pay what you owe, when you said you would** Nearly everything runs on credit. The amount is never the point; what is in question is whether your word is good. If you will be short, say so before it is due. That is a normal conversation. Being found short afterward is a different one, and [debt](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like/debt-and-owing-people) is where that goes. 7. **Do not touch anyone's property** Not to move it, borrow it, or look at it. This is the closest thing to an absolute rule in the building and it is the most common way a new man creates a problem by accident. 8. **Know what a fight costs before you are in one** Twenty seconds gets both parties a shot (a disciplinary write-up) regardless of who started it. Good time, the SHU (solitary), programming stops so credits stop, possibly a transfer up. And the part nobody counts: a shot is a reason to cut your halfway house recommendation. Frequently the most expensive piece, and never what anyone was arguing about. 9. **Read your own sentence computation, then write everything down** Errors happen and nobody else will find them. After that: date, name, what you asked, what you were told, every time. Two minutes each. It is the only leverage you will ever have, and it is the difference between an argument and a file. 10. **Build a routine in the first month** A job, programming, exercise on a schedule, something you are learning that has an end state. Men who structure their days do their time better than men who do not. This is the most reliable thing in any of these guides and the one most often ignored. The reasoning under all ten is in [while you're in](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/what-it-is-really-like). If you already know you are headed to a low, [the low security guide](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison) is the same material with the specifics filled in. ### [After you get out](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-after-you-get-out) Ten things. The first month is where most of the damage gets done, and almost all of it is sequencing. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Checklist%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-after-you-get-out # After you get out Ten things. The first month is where most of the damage gets done, and almost all of it is sequencing. ## In order of what it costs you — The ten 1. **If you had a substance problem, have something in place before you walk out** Your tolerance is gone and the weeks after release are a documented mortality spike. This is the highest-risk item on any of these lists. Arrange it before, not after. 2. **Report to your probation officer exactly as instructed** On time, every time, without being chased. Disclose before you are asked, particularly about anything that looks bad out of context. Never get caught in a small lie about something that did not matter. That ends more supervision terms badly than the underlying conduct ever does. 3. **Read your actual conditions** Get the list from your judgment and read every line, especially the special conditions: device monitoring, financial disclosure, association limits, industry restrictions. You are expected to comply with conditions (the rules you live under after release) you never read. [Supervised release](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release) is the long version. 4. **Get documents and access in dependency order** Phone number, then primary email, then birth certificate, Social Security card, state ID. Nothing else works until these do: no bank, no lease, no job. Each one gates the next, so the order is the whole game. [Documents come first](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back) has the sequence written out. 5. **Do not let your medication lapse** Release is a qualifying event for health coverage and the window is limited. Get a provider in the first month, not the first year. 6. **Do not get careless in the last sixty days of the halfway house** Violations cluster at the end, because the rules feel absurd by then and the finish line makes people sloppy. A violation here sends you back. 7. **Open a bank account, and find out why if you cannot** The denial is usually not your conviction. It is an old overdraft or a closed account in a screening database. Pull your own report, dispute what is wrong, and look at credit unions and second-chance products. 8. **Know your restitution number and pay it on the record** Payments continue after release and are typically a supervision condition. A documented history of consistent payment is what supports any later modification. Missed payments are a supervision problem before they are a financial one. 9. **Disclose early, and to the decision maker** The longer you wait the worse it goes, because a late reveal feels like concealment. Small companies, plain language, one sentence of explanation if they ask. The people who hesitate were never going to be good to work for. 10. **Ask about early termination when you are eligible** Supervised release can be cut short after a year served if your conduct warrants it. Nobody will offer this to you. Ask your PO (who supervises you after release) what their criteria are, keep the record clean, and raise it yourself. All ten of these are chapters in [getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison): the halfway house, supervision, documents, banking, housing, work, health, and the part nobody prepares you for. ### [The FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq) These are the things worth doing. The FAQ is the other hundred and fifty questions, answered one at a time. ## For your people — Hand the rest of this site to your family You will not be able to look things up once you're inside. They can, and this is where: [everything written for the one waiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families): a twelve-part guide to mail, visiting, money, and your release date, plus their own FAQ and checklist. Alongside it, a [guide to every facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe), the [support group directory](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), calculators for your release math, and [free answers](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) when they have questions. Send them the link before you report, not after they can't reach you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Checklist%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq # What families actually ask Over a hundred questions answered plainly. Some are from my own partner's lived experience; many of them arrived in my inbox from wives, mothers, and partners in the first month, which is why so many of them are about paperwork and so few are about danger. Two things hold across all of it. Nothing in this system happens because it ought to happen. It happens because somebody asked, and then asked again, and wrote down when they asked. And the Bureau will not proactively tell you anything, ever. Every piece of information you get, you will have gone and found. Ten sections. Nobody reads an FAQ in order, so use the list if you came here with one question. ## Read this first — Where these answers come from Doing time and doing waiting-time are not the same job. Most of what follows is procedural (how mail works, what the dress code is, when the halfway house referral is supposed to go in), and on that I am as good a source as you will find, because I watched the machinery from inside it for eighteen months. Some of it is not procedural. What the drive home feels like. What your children are probably carrying and not saying. Those answers are marked **Observed** , which means I am reporting what I watched or was told rather than what I lived. The whole of [the section about you](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/is-it-normal-to-feel-this-way) is tagged that way. It should be read as testimony, and if your experience contradicts it, [tell me and I will fix it](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20FAQ%20correction). Local rules vary enormously between institutions and they change. Every facility publishes an admission and orientation handbook, and it governs over anything written here. Find it, read it, keep it. ## Pick the one you came for ### [1. What's happening](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/where-they-are-and-who-to-ask) Where they are, why nobody will tell you anything, and who the staff members are that actually decide things. ### [2. Mail](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/mail-rules) Why letters come back, how to address one so it does not, and what your kid can and cannot draw with. ### [3. Visiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/getting-approved-to-visit) Getting approved, what to wear, what you can touch, whether to bring the children, and the drive home. ### [4. Money](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sending-money) How to send it, how much they need, why some of it disappears, and what happens to your household on one income. ### [5. Phone and messages](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/phone-calls-and-corrlinks) Why you cannot call them, why their calls drop the instant you answer, and how to have a real conversation on a recorded line. ### [6. The release date](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/when-they-are-actually-coming-home) The date on the website is not when they come home. What the real one is, and the one thing you can do to move it. ### [7. When something goes wrong](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sudden-silence-illness-and-transfers) They are sick, they have gone quiet, they got moved, somebody died. What to do, who to call, and in what order. ### [8. Kids](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/what-to-tell-the-kids) What to tell them, whether to tell the school, whether they should visit, and whether this damages them. ### [9. You](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/is-it-normal-to-feel-this-way) The part nobody writes. Who you tell, what you are allowed to feel about them, and whether you can keep doing this. ### [10. Coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/home-confinement-in-your-house) The halfway house, the rules that land in your house, and why the reunion is rarely the one either of you rehearsed. ## There's more for you [The family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide) is the same idea at length, in order, for reading rather than looking up. [The family checklists](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist) are ranked by what getting them wrong costs. [The facility guide](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) covers their specific institution, with [email alerts when visiting stops](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe). Their version of this page is [the FAQ written for the person inside](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/faq). Read it even though it is not addressed to you. It is what their day and their week actually look like right now. ## Ask it and it gets added Nearly every question on this page arrived in my inbox first. If yours is not here, send it. Answers are free, and the good ones end up on this page for the next family. These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/where-they-are-and-who-to-ask # What's happening Where they are, why nobody will tell you anything, and who the staff members are that actually decide things. ## Finding them — The first week ### Where are they right now and how do I find out? The Bureau's inmate locator, searchable by name or by register number. It shows which facility they are at and a projected release date. It does not show their halfway house date, which is the date you actually care about, and the two can differ by many months. [That distinction has its own section](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/when-they-are-actually-coming-home). ### What's a register number and why does everyone keep asking for it? It is their eight-digit federal identifier, assigned once and permanent. Five digits, a dash, three digits. Inside the system it identifies them more reliably than their name does. Mail without it does not arrive. Money without it does not land. Visiting forms without it do not process. Get it off the judgment, write it somewhere you will not lose it, and use it on everything. ### How long until I hear from them after they report? Several days is normal. A week is common. They arrive with no phone account, no approved contact list, and no messaging access, and none of that exists until staff set it up. The silence is administrative, not a sign that something went wrong. ### Should I call the prison to check they're okay? No. You will not get an answer, and it is the one call that reliably annoys the people you are going to need later. Save the calls for things that are documentable and specific. [Working the system](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/getting-answers-out-of-the-bop) covers how to spend that credit. ### Why won't anyone tell me anything? They will not, ever, proactively. That is an operating condition rather than an oversight, and adjusting to it early saves you a lot of wasted anger. Every piece of information you get about their sentence, you will have gone and found. Plan accordingly and keep a log of who told you what. ## Where they sent your person — Designation ### What's the difference between a camp, a low, and a medium? Security level, and it changes almost everything about their day. - **Camp (minimum).** No fence. Dormitory housing, work details off the compound, the most movement and the least supervision. - **Low.** Double fence. Dorm or cubicle housing, a large population, and the level most white-collar and drug cases land at. [There is a whole guide to what a low is actually like](https://federalprisondude.com/low-security-federal-prison). - **Medium.** Cells, higher perimeter security, more controlled movement, more lockdowns. - **High (penitentiary).** Cells, the tightest control, and a genuinely different environment. They are scored into one of these by a points system, not by anyone's judgment. [PS 5100.08](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification) is the scoring sheet. ### Can I find out why they got sent so far away? Partly. The statute directs the Bureau to place them as close as practicable to their release residence, and within 500 driving miles of it where practicable. “Practicable” is doing a great deal of work in that sentence. What overrides it in practice: their security level, bed space at the nearest facility that matches it, medical care needs, any separation orders, and programming like RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year). Nobody will walk you through which of those applied. What you can do is ask their case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) to note the release address you actually want, because that address is the anchor the 500 miles is measured from. ### Can they be moved closer to home? Yes. They request a nearer-release transfer through their unit team, and it takes clean conduct, a matching security level, and bed space. The lever most families never use: the listed release address. Changing it to one closer to where you want them changes what “close to home” means in their file. They have to make that request; you cannot. Nobody can sell you this. [Anyone charging for a placement](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison) is charging for something they do not control. ## The staff — Who actually decides things ### Who is the case manager and why do they matter so much? The case manager owns your person's record, sentence computation, release planning, halfway house referral, transfers, and visiting list. That is nearly every decision that affects when your person comes home to you. The case manager is the most consequential staff member in the building, and they carry a large caseload, which is why nothing moves unless someone asks. ### What's a counselor vs a case manager vs a unit manager? The counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs) handles day-to-day unit administration: forms, the phone list, job assignments, small problems. The case manager is described above. The unit manager (the boss of your housing unit) supervises both, and is your first escalation when the other two are not responding. The three together are their unit team (the staff who run your daily life). Learn all three names and titles and use them. ### What's 'team'? A program review. A scheduled meeting with the unit team, where the team goes through progress, programming, and release planning, and hands over computer-generated paperwork. It is also the only scheduled moment where the halfway house referral can be raised, which makes it the single most important date on their calendar and yours. Ask them when their next one is, and ask them what they asked for afterward. ### [Mail](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/mail-rules) Why letters come back, how to address one so it does not, and what your kid can and cannot draw with. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/mail-rules # Mail Why letters come back, how to address one so it does not, and what your kid can and cannot draw with. ## The envelope — Getting it there ### How do I address it? Their committed name, their register number, and the institution's mailing address in the exact format that facility specifies. Your own full name and complete return address on the outside. Check whether their facility processes general correspondence centrally or scans incoming mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rather than delivering your original. Both arrangements exist, both change the address you use, and using the wrong one means it goes nowhere. ### Why did my letter come back? Almost always something on the rejection list. Check the envelope before you call anyone. Understand the incentive: nobody in the mailroom is paid to decide whether your letter is fine. If they pass something that turns out to be a problem, that is on them. If they reject it and you are upset, that is on nobody. **The goal is not to be reasonable, it is to be unrejectable.** [The full list](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-mail-works) is worth reading once. ### How many pages can I send? There is a limit almost everywhere and it is set locally rather than nationally, so I cannot give you a number that is true at their facility. It lives in the admission and orientation handbook, along with the photo limit. Ask them to send you that section, or find the handbook on the facility's page at bop.gov. Then stay under it, because being one page over is a rejection like any other. ### Can I send stickers, glitter, or a card? No stickers of any kind, and that includes return-address labels and decorative seals. No glitter, no glue, no tape, no padding, no musical cards, no layered or oversized cards. Also on the list: lipstick, perfume, anything applied to the paper, water-stained paper, blank paper, blank envelopes, and loose postage stamps. ### Can I send photos? How many? Yes, up to a per-envelope limit set by their institution. It is usually a small number, and going over it gets the whole envelope rejected rather than the extra photos removed. No Polaroids, because of what can be concealed in the backing. Nothing sexually explicit. Nothing that could be read as a gang sign, which is interpreted broadly and unsympathetically. Send them regularly and send them small. Photographs are the thing men actually keep. ### Can I send my kid's drawing? Pencil or pen on plain paper. Crayon, marker, glued-on anything, and glitter all come back. This is the rejection that hurts the most and it is entirely preventable. Hand the kid a pencil. ### Can I send a book? Direct from a publisher or an approved retailer only. Not one you own, and not one you bought at a store and put in a box. Order it online and have it shipped to them at the facility. The publications rules are [PS 5266.11](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5266-11-incoming-publications). ### Can I send money in a card? No. Cash, personal checks, and gift cards are all rejected, and there is a proper route for money that [the money section](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sending-money) covers. ## The other direction — Delays, privacy, and silence ### Why is their mail to me taking so long? Everything is inspected in both directions, and at facilities that route general correspondence through a central processing center it is also scanned before delivery. That adds days at best and weeks at worse. A week or two each way is unremarkable. Date your letters so you can both tell what is a delay and what is a gap. ### Is my mail being read? Assume yes. Incoming general correspondence may be opened and read, and at minimum it is inspected. Their outgoing mail is subject to inspection too. Write accordingly. Nothing about their case, anyone else's case, money arrangements, or anything you would not want read aloud to a room. That constraint is genuinely painful over years and it is still the rule. ### What's legal mail and does it work differently? Correspondence from their attorney, which is opened in their presence rather than in the mailroom. It has to be marked correctly to get that treatment, and that is the lawyer's job rather than yours. If their attorney is not marking it properly, say so once, plainly. ### What if mail just stops arriving? Check your envelope against the list first, because it is nearly always something on it, and rejected mail sometimes comes back with no notice explaining why. They may never know it existed. If your envelopes are clean and it has been weeks in both directions, the usual causes are a SHU (solitary) placement, a facility lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped), or a transfer in progress. Call the unit team (the staff who run your daily life). [Lockdowns are tracked per facility here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons), and [the alert service](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) emails you when their locks down. ### [Visiting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/getting-approved-to-visit) Getting approved, what to wear, what you can touch, whether to bring the children, and the drive home. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/getting-approved-to-visit # Visiting Getting approved, what to wear, what you can touch, whether to bring the children, and the drive home. Where this comes from I did the time. I did not do the waiting, and they are not the same job. Answers below tagged **Observed** are what I watched from the inside over eighteen months. Whose people kept coming and whose stopped, what a man looked like walking back from the visiting room, what happened to the ones whose wives left. That is a real vantage point and it is not yours. Take those as testimony rather than instruction. If you have lived the other side of it and I have something wrong, [tell me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20FAQ%20correction) and I will fix it. ## The list — Getting approved ### How do I get approved to visit? They start it. They submit your name to their case manager (the staffer who controls your release date), the institution mails you a visitor questionnaire, you complete it and send it back, and a background check runs. Complete it accurately and completely. Omissions read as concealment and are the usual reason for denial. ### How long does approval take? Weeks. Sometimes longer, and there is no status page to check. Start it before they report if you possibly can. Families who begin after they arrive routinely lose their first few months of visits to nothing but paperwork lag. ### Why was I denied? Usually an incomplete form, or something on your record. Ask their counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs), by name, in a short specific call. A denial is not always final. Find out which of the two it was, fix the fixable one, and have them resubmit. ### Can I visit if I have a record? Usually, yes. A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you. It complicates approval and it slows it down. Prior incarceration generally requires additional authorization above the unit team, which takes longer and is granted more often than families expect. Disclose it on the form. Being caught omitting it is worse than whatever it was. ### Can I visit if I'm not family? Yes, within limits. Friends and associates can be approved, though the list is usually capped and non-relatives generally need to have known them before they were incarcerated. Clergy and attorneys sit outside the regular list. The rules are [PS 5267.09](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5267-09-visiting-regulations), and nearly every warden supplements them locally. ### How often can I come? Visits are allocated on a points system, with weekend days typically costing more points than weekdays. Some facilities require advance scheduling and some do not. Both the allocation and the schedule are facility-specific and they are in the handbook. If you are driving a long way, weekdays buy you more visits for the same points. ## The door — Getting in ### What do I wear? Nothing resembling what inmates or staff wear. Khaki, olive, and grey are commonly banned outright, and some facilities restrict denim. No sheer fabric, no low necklines, no short skirts, no leggings as pants, no sleeveless tops. No hats. Closed-toe shoes. Underwire sets off the metal detector and has ended visits before they started. **When in doubt, dress like you are appearing in court in front of a judge who dislikes you.** People get turned away at the door after a six-hour drive over this, every weekend, at every facility. ### What can I bring in? Almost nothing. Identification, your car key, and a limited amount of money for the vending machines, usually in coins or a clear container. Everything else goes in a locker outside. Your phone stays in the car. ### Can I hug them? Hold their hand? A brief embrace and a kiss at the beginning and end of the visit. Hand-holding above the table during, at most places. Seating is assigned and you do not move it. Officers end visits over contact violations and they do not warn twice. ## Inside the room — What it is actually like ### What's the visiting room actually like? I sat in one most weekends for a year and a half, so this part I can tell you exactly. It is a big bright room with rows of hard chairs bolted into position, facing each other in pairs. Fluorescent light, no windows worth the name, a wall of vending machines that is the entire menu, and an officer at a desk with a view of everything. It is loud in a specific way: forty families all talking at once, none of them able to be quiet, all of them having the same conversation. There is a photo setup at most places where you can buy a picture together. Do it. It is the only one you will get, and men keep those. Nobody is watching you the way you are afraid they are. Everyone in that room is having their own bad day. ### What should I expect from the first visit? Harder than either of you expects. They will look different. Neither of you will say what you planned to say, and you will both spend the drive there rehearsing something that does not happen. It is much easier the second time. That is not a consolation, it is a prediction, and it holds up almost universally. ### Why do I feel so terrible on the drive home? Observed I never made that drive, so take this as what I watched rather than what I felt. Every man on the compound came back from a good visit worse than they went in, and it was so consistent you could set a clock by it. The visit ends, the thing you have been holding together for weeks gets briefly real, and then it is taken away on a schedule somebody else set. Both sides of that door get the drop. Their version is a walk back to the unit; yours is a car. What I saw work: do not be alone with it for six hours if you can avoid it. Bring someone, or plan something for the other end. And do not solve the crash by visiting less: that trade looks rational and the men whose people made it did visibly worse. ## The children — Bringing kids ### Can I bring the kids? They have to be approved like anyone else, and a birth certificate is often required. They stay with you throughout. Some visiting rooms have a children's area and some do not. Ask before you plan around one. ### Should I bring the kids? If the child wants to come. Not to make them feel better. [The kids section](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/what-to-tell-the-kids) takes that apart properly. ### [Money](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sending-money) How to send it, how much they need, why some of it disappears, and what happens to your household on one income. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sending-money # Money How to send it, how much they need, why some of it disappears, and what happens to your household on one income. ## Sending it — Getting money onto their account ### How do I send them money? Three routes: a lockbox by mail, which is slow and cheap; MoneyGram (how families load money onto the account); or Western Union. The last two land in hours and cost a fee. Their committed name and register number have to be exactly right on all three. This is the single most common way a deposit disappears into a queue for weeks. The trust fund rules, annotated: [PS 4500.13](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4500-13-trust-fund-deposit-fund-manual). ### How much do they actually need per month? They can only spend $360 a month at commissary (the prison store) from their own account, so that is the practical ceiling rather than a target. Plenty of people do fine on far less. A hundred a month covers coffee, hygiene, and enough food to not be hungry. Ask them what they actually want rather than guessing, and read the next two answers before you send a large amount. ### What can they spend it on? Food, coffee, hygiene, over-the-counter medication, shoes, a radio, and stamps (the inmate currency). Phone credit and email time come out of the same account. Stamps and phone credit generally sit outside the $360 cap, which is part of why stamps became the compound's actual currency. ### Why is money being taken out of what I send? The Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. If they owe restitution, a fine, or child support, the Bureau takes a share of what comes into their account on a schedule their unit team sets and periodically recalculates. ### Does sending more mean they take more? Yes, and that is the counterintuitive part that catches families out. The payment is reassessed against what is actually landing in their account, so a generous month can raise their obligation for the following ones. Ask them what their current schedule is before making a large deposit, and consider spreading it. ### Can they send money home to me? No. ### Do they get paid for working? Cents an hour. A typical institution job pays a few dollars a month, which is not nothing when you have nothing but is not a contribution to anything. The exception is UNICOR (the better-paying prison work program), which pays multiples of every other job. There is a waiting list, and being in IFRP refusal status disqualifies them from it entirely. ## Your side — The household ### What if I can't afford to send anything? Then you do not send anything, and they will be fine. Say that to them plainly rather than apologising by letter for months. They can tell their counselor they are indigent and be issued basic hygiene, and they can work an institution job. A great many people inside have no outside support at all. It is harder than it should be and it is survivable, and your household staying solvent matters more to their release plan than their commissary does. ### What happens to our joint accounts and bills? Nothing automatic, which is the problem. Accounts in their name stay in their name, and they cannot sign anything, call anyone, or verify their identity from inside. This is what the power of attorney is for, and it needs to be executed before they go. Get signature authority on anything that has to stay live, autopay on anything whose lapse cascades (insurance, storage, the mortgage), and decide deliberately what gets cancelled rather than carried. If they are already gone and you did not do this, it is harder and not impossible. It is also one of the few things a congressional caseworker cannot help you with, so it is worth an hour of a lawyer's time. ### What benefits might I qualify for? More than you think, and the reason families miss them is that they check against last year's income instead of this month's. Worth checking, all of them means-tested against your household as it is now: SNAP, Medicaid and CHIP for the children, TANF, WIC, free and reduced school meals, LIHEAP for utilities, and any state-level assistance where you live. Dialing 211 gets you a person who knows your county's version of all of it. Two other things people miss: your tax filing status may change, which is worth twenty minutes with someone who does taxes, and school districts have discretionary funds and fee waivers that nobody advertises. Do this early. Doing it after the savings are gone means doing it in a worse frame of mind with fewer options. ### [Phone and messages](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/phone-calls-and-corrlinks) Why you cannot call them, why their calls drop the instant you answer, and how to have a real conversation on a recorded line. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/phone-calls-and-corrlinks # Phone and messages Why you cannot call them, why their calls drop the instant you answer, and how to have a real conversation on a recorded line. ## The phone — How calls work ### Why can't I call them? You cannot, ever, for any reason. They call you. There is a separate process for a genuine emergency, and it runs through the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news) rather than through the phones. [When something goes wrong](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sudden-silence-illness-and-transfers) covers it. ### Why do their calls keep dropping the instant I answer? The keypress. The system requires the person answering to press a key to accept the call, and some virtual number services do not pass that keypress through. Google Voice is the usual culprit. It is not them hanging up and it is not the prison. Test the line with any other number and you will see it immediately. Fix it before they burn more minutes on calls that cannot connect. ### How many minutes do they get? Three hundred a month, and four hundred in November and December. Individual calls cut off at fifteen minutes, and after each one they wait thirty minutes before they can place another. Some institutions add a daily cap on top of that. Their handbook is the authority on their. The monthly allowance has been revised more than once in recent years. Treat that number as current-but-checkable. ### Why did the call cut off mid-sentence? They hit a limit: per call, per day, or per month. There are warnings before it happens and they are easy to miss mid-conversation. Practical version: do not spend the first four minutes of a fifteen-minute call on logistics. Say the important thing first. ### Are our calls recorded? All of them. And they get pulled. ## The messages — Email that is not email ### How does the email thing work? Their side is TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored) and yours is CorrLinks (the app families use to message inside). They initiate it by adding your address, you get an invitation, and you accept it before anything can be exchanged. Messages are held for review in both directions, typically a couple of hours and sometimes longer. The rules are [PS 5265.13](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging). ### Why are their emails so short? The meter is running. They are charged by the minute to read and by the minute to write, five cents each way. It is not indifference. A long affectionate letter from you costs them money to read, which is a genuinely awful sentence to have to write, and they would still rather have it. ### Can I send them a photo through the system? No. No attachments and no images, in either direction. Photos go by [mail](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/mail-rules#photos), printed, under the per-envelope limit, and not on Polaroid stock. ## The audience — Talking on a monitored line ### What shouldn't we talk about? Their case. Anyone else's case. Money arrangements between inmates. Anything that could be read as a three-way call being set up, because the system listens for exactly that. Anything about another inmate at all. And anything you would not want read aloud in a room by someone who does not like either of you, because that is the actual test. ### How do I have a real conversation when everything is monitored? By accepting that the monitoring is not the obstacle you think it is. Nobody is listening live. Recordings get pulled when there is a reason, and ordinary marriage does not give anyone a reason. What actually kills these conversations is the fifteen-minute clock and the fact that neither of you has any news. So: say the important thing in the first two minutes. Bring one real thing from your week rather than a summary of it. Ask them what they ate, what they read, who they talked to: small and concrete beats how-are-you-holding-up, which neither of you can answer honestly. The men who did best had people who called about nothing in particular and kept doing it. The content mattered much less than the rhythm. ### [The release date](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/when-they-are-actually-coming-home) The date on the website is not when they come home. What the real one is, and the one thing you can do to move it. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/when-they-are-actually-coming-home # The release date The date on the website is not when they come home. What the real one is, and the one thing you can do to move it. ## The date — Which number is the real one ### When are they actually coming home? Not the date on the locator. That is their projected release date from Bureau custody, and it is not when they walk through your door. Their halfway house date is the one that matters, and the gap between the two can be many months. Nobody publishes it, nobody volunteers it, and it is the number this entire section exists to get you. [The time calculator](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator) will do both numbers if you have their sentence, their jail credit, and their PATTERN level. ### What's the difference between good time and FSA credits? Good conduct time (days off for staying out of trouble) is 54 days a year off the sentence imposed, for everyone, kept unless a disciplinary hearing takes it. FSA credits (time off earned through programming) are earned by completing programming. They do not shorten the sentence. They move them into prerelease custody sooner, which means halfway house and home confinement, with up to a year of them applied toward the supervised release date. They stack. The catch is that their PATTERN (the risk score affecting your credits) risk score has to be minimum or low for the credits to be applied at all, and [you can score them yourself](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-pattern-score-calculator). ### What's a sentence computation and how do I get a copy? It is the Bureau's arithmetic on their sentence: the raw term, jail credit, good time projected and earned, and every date that falls out of it. It is the source document for everything anyone tells you about when they come home. You cannot request it. They can, from their case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) or the inmate kiosk, and they can mail you a copy. Ask them to, and ask again after every [team meeting](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/where-they-are-and-who-to-ask#whats-team), because it changes. Keep them all. A stack of computations with dates on them is how you catch an error, and it is the only way you catch one. ### What if the release date on the website is wrong? It usually is not, and it is worth checking anyway, because when it is wrong nobody else is going to find it. Jail credit is where it goes sideways. Time they sat somewhere before designation that never made it onto the sheet. Compare the computation against their judgment line by line. If it is wrong, they raise it with their case manager in writing, and if that goes nowhere it becomes an administrative remedy under [PS 1330.18](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program). Release date errors are one of the few things the remedy process genuinely fixes. ## The back end — Halfway house and home confinement ### What's the halfway house? A residential reentry center: a contracted facility in the community where they serve the end of their sentence, works a job, and is subject to sign-in, curfew, and testing. It is where they stop being in a prison and is not yet home, and getting more of it is the single highest-value thing either of you can do. It is also [stricter than almost anyone expects](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement). ### How do I get them more halfway house time? You ask, on a schedule, and you write down every time you asked. Policy contemplates the referral going in roughly seventeen to nineteen months before their projected release date. Count backward from their date, put that window in your calendar, and start calling their case manager before it opens rather than after. Ask two specific questions: when is the referral scheduled, and what length is being recommended. Nothing happens until someone asks, no metric attaches to anyone doing it on time, and the entire cost of a late referral lands on them. Two points of pressure (theirs and yours) work better than either alone. [The full push](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/pushing-for-halfway-house-time). ### Who decides how much they get? Not their case manager, though they write the recommendation, and that recommendation is the thing you are actually influencing. The referral goes up with the warden's signature, and then the actual placement depends on the halfway house having a bed. A generous recommendation into a full facility still gets you a short stay, which is why the timing matters as much as the number. ### Can they get home confinement instead? Usually as well as, rather than instead of. The common shape is halfway house first, then home confinement for the last stretch, with the total governed by their credits and the statute. Straight to home confinement happens and it is not the default. It needs an approved residence, which means the address work starts months ahead and whoever lives there has to genuinely agree, including to an officer arriving unannounced. ## The other levers — Programs, and what cannot be bought ### What's RDAP and can it get them out sooner? The Residential Drug Abuse Program. It is the only thing in the system that takes real time off the end (up to a year for eligible inmates with a nonviolent offense) on top of everything else they are earning. The gate is a documented substance abuse problem in the year before their arrest, verified against their PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence). If it is real and it is not in the report, that has to be fixed before sentencing, because the PSR cannot be amended afterward. If it is not real, they do not qualify, and manufacturing a history means putting false information into a federal record. An immigration detainer (a hold from another jurisdiction) disqualifies them from the early release even if they complete the program. [PS 5330.11](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5330-11-psychology-treatment-programs-rdap) is the policy. ### Can I do anything about the length of their sentence? Honestly, almost certainly not, and this is where families lose the most money. Direct appeal and a 2255 motion are their lawyer's territory, they are narrow, and they rarely succeed. Compassionate release exists with genuinely narrow criteria and starts with a request to the warden, not a payment to a consultant. Anyone who contacts you promising a reduction is [running a known pattern](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work), and you should read that page before you speak to them again. Here is the part worth hearing. The sentence is fixed. **Their release date is not.** Halfway house placement, First Step Act credits, and RDAP are worth months and sometimes more than a year between them, they are free, and they respond to exactly one thing: somebody asking on time and writing down that they asked. That is the lever you actually have. Use it instead. ### [When something goes wrong](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sudden-silence-illness-and-transfers) They are sick, they have gone quiet, they got moved, somebody died. What to do, who to call, and in what order. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/sudden-silence-illness-and-transfers # When something goes wrong They are sick, they have gone quiet, they got moved, somebody died. What to do, who to call, and in what order. ## Health — Medical ### They're sick and nobody is doing anything. What do I do? Escalate by name and title, in that order: the Health Services Administrator, then the Clinical Director, then the warden, then the regional health services administrator. Document as you go: when they first reported symptoms, when they submitted each sick call request, what they were told, what medication they are or are not receiving. **Dates and specifics move things. General concern does not.** Medical is also the strongest case for [a congressional caseworker](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-while-they-are-inside), and it is the category where the administrative remedy process actually works. ### What if it's an emergency? Call the institution and ask for the Captain or the Operations Lieutenant (a shift supervisor above the guards). Those are the people with authority to act at that moment. Do not leave a message with the switchboard and wait. ### Are they safe? At a camp or a low, almost certainly. I did eighteen months at a low and was never in a fight. The version of prison you are picturing is television, and it is not what a federal low is. The real risks are not the ones that keep you awake. They are medical care that does not arrive, and K2, which is the most common cause of medical emergencies inside and which they should stay entirely away from. If their case is one of the few that genuinely carries risk (law enforcement, prosecution, a sex offense, or cooperation on the record) that is a different conversation and it should have happened with their attorney before sentencing. [Email me](https://federalprisondude.com/contact) if that is you. ## Silence — When you cannot reach them ### They've stopped calling and I can't reach them. What happened? Usually one of three things: a SHU (solitary) placement, a facility lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped), or a transfer in progress. The locator will eventually show a transfer. For the other two, call the unit team (the staff who run your daily life), and expect to be told very little. That is normal and it does not mean the worst. [Each facility's page here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons) shows current operations, and [the alert service](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) emails you when their locks down and when it lifts. ### What is the SHU and how long will they be there? The Special Housing Unit. Twenty-three hours a day in a cell, one hour out if they are lucky, none of their property, and three officers cuffing them at the wrists and ankles to walk them to a shower. Two ways in. Disciplinary segregation follows a hearing and has a set length. Pending-investigation placement requires them to have done nothing at all and can run weeks with no finding at the end of it. You will be told very little either way, their phone and visiting access will be restricted, and their First Step Act credits stop accruing while they are in there. That last part is the piece nobody mentions, and it costs real time. ### They got a shot. What does that mean for their release date? Depends entirely on the severity tier, and those are set by regulation at 28 C.F.R. 541.3 rather than by anyone's mood: - **Greatest severity, the 100 codes.** Ordinarily 27 to 41 days of good conduct time disallowed. A phone, a weapon, an assault. - **High severity, the 200 codes.** Ordinarily 14 to 27 days. Fighting, drugs, stealing. - **Moderate, the 300 codes.** Ordinarily up to 14 days. - **Low, the 400 codes.** Ordinarily up to 7, and only on a repeat of the same code within six months. The good time is the visible cost. The larger one is usually invisible: a shot is a reason to cut their halfway house recommendation, and that is measured in months rather than days. They can appeal to the Regional Director, the clock is short, and it rarely works and is still worth doing because the written record is what makes anything later possible. ### They got transferred with no warning. Why? Bed space, a change in their points, a disciplinary decision, a medical need, or a program they were approved for. Nobody will explain which. Practical consequences: their property may take weeks to catch up, and your visiting approval does not automatically move with them and may have to be redone from the start. Begin that immediately rather than after the first refused visit. ## Loss — A death in the family ### Someone in the family died. How do I tell them? Notify the institution through the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news). That is the correct route and, in my experience, the one part of the system that handles a hard thing well. Then tell them yourself, on a call, if you possibly can. Finding out through official channels is worse, and men remember which way they were told for the rest of their sentence. ### Can they come to the funeral? Unlikely. Furloughs (a rare temporary authorized absence) for funerals exist and are rarely granted. Escorted trips are possible in limited circumstances and generally at family expense. Ask anyway, immediately, in writing, and have them ask their unit team the same day from their side. The answer is usually no and the request costs nothing, and the timeline is short enough that a day of hesitation decides it. ## Escalation — Lawyers, and the rest ### Do I need to get the lawyer involved? For most of what goes wrong inside, no. Medical care, a lost sentence computation, a halfway house referral that has not happened. Those run through the administrative remedy process, which is free, and through a congressional caseworker, who is also free. A lawyer adds cost and rarely speed. Where you do want one: a new charge arising from something inside, an immigration detainer, a 2255 or a resentencing question, or anything touching their conviction rather than their conditions. What you never want is a non-lawyer selling you any of the above. [That pitch has its own page](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work), and it exists because families in exactly your position are the target. ### They sound different / depressed / far away. What do I do? I was that guy on the other end of the phone, so I can tell you what is usually happening. Some of it is the fifteen-minute clock and having no news worth reporting. Some of it is that they are managing how they come across, because sounding fine is a job they have taken on for your benefit. And some of it is real. What does not help: asking whether they are okay, which they will answer “fine” to every time, and asking on every call, which teaches them to perform harder. What does: ask small concrete questions. What did they eat, what are they reading, who did they talk to today, what is their job. Men who had somebody asking about Tuesday rather than about their soul stayed connected to the outside far better. If it is more than that (they have stopped calling, stopped eating, stopped caring about their date) ask them directly to put in for psychology, and know what they will get, which is a PsyD maybe once a month and medication that is hard to come by. If you think they are in danger, call the unit team and say the words plainly. The response will be clumsy. It is still a response, and waiting is worse. ### [Kids](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/what-to-tell-the-kids) What to tell them, whether to tell the school, whether they should visit, and whether this damages them. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/what-to-tell-the-kids # Kids What to tell them, whether to tell the school, whether they should visit, and whether this damages them. Where this comes from I did the time. I did not do the waiting, and they are not the same job. Answers below tagged **Observed** are what I watched from the inside over eighteen months. Whose people kept coming and whose stopped, what a man looked like walking back from the visiting room, what happened to the ones whose wives left. That is a real vantage point and it is not yours. Take those as testimony rather than instruction. If you have lived the other side of it and I have something wrong, [tell me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20FAQ%20correction) and I will fix it. ## The truth — What they get told ### What do I tell them? Age-appropriate honesty. Where they are, that they are safe, that they did something against the law, that it is not their fault, and roughly when they are coming back. Cover stories collapse, and the collapse is worse than the truth would have been. The child who finds out at twelve that everyone lied about where dad was has two problems instead of one. ### Should I tell the school? Generally yes. School counselors are discreet in my experience of hearing about it, and children of incarcerated parents are a recognized population with actual resources attached to them. You are also not the first family in your district, whatever it feels like. A counselor who knows why a kid's behavior changed in October responds differently than one who does not. ### How do I handle the questions from other parents? Observed I only ever heard this end of it secondhand, from men whose wives were dealing with it, so weigh it accordingly. What I heard consistently: you owe nobody an explanation, a short flat answer ends the conversation faster than a careful one, and the people who press are telling you something useful about themselves. “They're away for a while, we're doing okay” closed most of it. The thing that seemed to hurt families most was not the nosy parent. It was withdrawing from everyone to avoid the possibility of one, and then being alone on top of everything else. ## The visiting room — Whether they come ### Should they visit? Observed Watched from my side of the table, over a year and a half: yes, if the child wants to, and never to make them feel better. The visits that went well were the ones where the kid had been asked and said yes. The ones that went badly were the ones where a kid had been brought as medicine for their father, and every adult in that room could tell which was which within about ten minutes. Small kids do better than people expect. They are mostly interested in the vending machines. It is the eleven-to-fifteen range that finds it hardest, and that is also the range most likely to say yes out of duty. ### What if they don't want to go? Observed Then they do not go, and you tell them that plainly rather than inventing a scheduling reason. I watched men take that news badly and then take it fine about a month later. What I did not see was a child forced into a visiting room who came out of it better. Keep the letters going, keep them on the phone if they will, and let it change back on its own, because it usually does. ### How do they stay in contact between visits? Letters, and it is worth making a ritual of it: pencil or pen on plain paper, because crayon and marker come back. A drawing a week does more than people think. Their calls, which the children can share. Messages go through your account rather than the child's own; children do not get their own. Ask the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news) whether their facility runs a program where a parent records themselves reading a book for a child. They exist at some institutions and not others, nobody advertises them, and families who found one valued it more than anything else on this list. ## The hard ones — Anger, and damage ### What if they're angry at your person? At me? Observed Both are normal and I only ever saw the aftershock of it, on the phone, from the other end. Anger at your person is the easier one, and the men who did best with it did not argue, did not defend the case, and did not ask the kid to manage their feelings for them. They took it and kept calling. Anger at you is more common than anyone admits, because you are the one who is there. It is not a verdict on you. It is what happens when the only safe target is the parent who did not leave. ### Will this mess them up? Observed I am not a child psychologist and I did not raise a child through this, so here is what is documented and what I watched, kept separate. Documented: a parent's incarceration is a recognized adverse childhood experience, and it carries real associations. The protective factors are also documented and they are unglamorous: honest age-appropriate information, maintained contact with the incarcerated parent, and a stable caregiver on the outside. You control all three. Watched: the difference between the kids who were fine and the kids who were not tracked almost entirely to the adults around them, not to the fact of the sentence. Contact maintained, truth told, one steady household. The men whose kids struggled worst were, with grim consistency, the ones whose contact had lapsed. So the answer is that it is a real thing that happens to them, and the largest variable in how it lands is you, which is a heavy thing to be told and it is also good news. ### [You](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/is-it-normal-to-feel-this-way) The part nobody writes. Who you tell, what you are allowed to feel about them, and whether you can keep doing this. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/is-it-normal-to-feel-this-way # You The part nobody writes. Who you tell, what you are allowed to feel about them, and whether you can keep doing this. Where this comes from I did the time. I did not do the waiting, and they are not the same job. Answers below tagged **Observed** are what I watched from the inside over eighteen months. Whose people kept coming and whose stopped, what a man looked like walking back from the visiting room, what happened to the ones whose wives left. That is a real vantage point and it is not yours. Take those as testimony rather than instruction. If you have lived the other side of it and I have something wrong, [tell me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20FAQ%20correction) and I will fix it. Every answer on this page is tagged observed, and I want to be blunt about what that means before you read any of it. I was the one who went away. I am reporting on the people who waited for the men I was inside with, from a thousand conversations on a compound and none from your side of it. If any of this does not match your life, your life is the accurate one. ## The circle — Who knows ### Who do I tell? Observed Whoever you decide, and you are not obligated to explain your family's situation to anybody. What I watched go wrong was not people telling too many. It was people telling nobody, and then being alone with it for two years on top of everything else. The isolation did more damage to the families I heard about than the money did, and it compounds, because the natural response to it is to withdraw further. Pick two or three people and actually tell them. Some relationships will not survive it. Better to find that out in month one than in month twenty. ### How do I handle people finding out? Observed It will happen, and usually not the way you planned it. Federal cases are public record and somebody eventually searches a name. From what men told me: short and flat works better than careful and complete. You do not owe context, you do not owe the story, and an explanation invites follow-up questions in a way a sentence does not. The ones who took it hardest were the ones who had built the rest of their life around it never coming out. That is a lot of weight to put on a thing you do not control. ### Where do I find other families? Facility-specific groups, and they are genuinely useful for logistics. What the mailroom is rejecting this month, how long visiting approval is running, what the room is actually like. They are also full of people selling consulting and people confidently repeating things that are not true. Take the logistics, verify anything that matters against the handbook, and ignore the sales. [A vetted starting point](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). ## What you are allowed to feel — Anger, and relief ### Is it normal to be angry at them? Observed Yes, and from where I sat it looked close to universal, including in the marriages that made it all the way through. They did something that took your house apart, and you are the one holding the pieces while they are somewhere with no bills and a schedule. Both of those are true at once. Being angry about it is not disloyalty and it is not a sign that you are leaving. The men who handled it best were the ones whose people said it out loud instead of routing it into three months of clipped phone calls. They would rather be told. Most of them already know. ### Is it normal to feel relieved? Observed Yes, and almost nobody admits it, which is why it is worth putting on a page. I can say this much from my own side: when I finally reported, part of what I felt was relief. The waiting was over, the worst known thing had happened, and there was nothing left to dread. Several men described their wives sounding the same way in the first weeks, and being ashamed of it. If the run-up to this was months of investigation, lawyers, and not knowing, then the thing that just ended was chaos. Relief that chaos ended is not relief that they are gone. ## The long haul — Whether you can keep doing this ### How do people do this for years? Observed The same way they do, which surprised me: routine, and a shorter horizon than the sentence. The families that held up did not white-knuckle four years. They ran a week at a time: a visiting rhythm, a letter day, a call they could count on, one thing in the calendar that was theirs and had nothing to do with them. The ones who tried to hold the whole span in their head at once did much worse. And they did not do it alone. Every single durable version of this I saw had at least one other person in it. ### Should I stay in the relationship? Observed I am not going to answer that, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does. What I can tell you is what the outcomes looked like from inside. Plenty of relationships ended, and ending one is not a moral failure. A sentence is a real thing to be asked to serve alongside somebody, and nobody signed you up for it. The pattern worth knowing: the version that did the most damage was not leaving. It was the slow fade: visits thinning, calls getting shorter, months of neither of you saying the thing. That is the one that broke men, because they knew and could not ask, and it is the one that leaves the person on the outside carrying it for years afterward. If you decide to go, tell them. If you decide to stay, tell them that too, because they are doing arithmetic about it in the dark either way. ### What if I can't do this? Observed Then say so, out loud, to a person. That is the whole of my advice and I do not have a better version of it. Some people cannot carry it and that is a fact about the size of the thing rather than about them. What I saw was that the ones who said it early got some version of help: a sibling who took the school run, a counselor, a group, one friend who knew. The ones who did not say it got quieter for about a year and then something broke. Practically: your own doctor, a counselor before the friction rather than after, whatever benefits your household now qualifies for, and one person who gets the honest answer when they ask how you are. If you are in genuine crisis, call or text 988. That is not a small suggestion made to fill out a paragraph. The thing nobody tells you is that this tends to hit hardest about a month after they are home, when it is finally safe to feel it. Take your own recovery as seriously as you took their release date. ### [Coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/home-confinement-in-your-house) The halfway house, the rules that land in your house, and why the reunion is rarely the one either of you rehearsed. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/home-confinement-in-your-house # Coming home The halfway house, the rules that land in your house, and why the reunion is rarely the one either of you rehearsed. Where this comes from I did the time. I did not do the waiting, and they are not the same job. Answers below tagged **Observed** are what I watched from the inside over eighteen months. Whose people kept coming and whose stopped, what a man looked like walking back from the visiting room, what happened to the ones whose wives left. That is a real vantage point and it is not yours. Take those as testimony rather than instruction. If you have lived the other side of it and I have something wrong, [tell me](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20FAQ%20correction) and I will fix it. ## The last stretch — Halfway house and home confinement ### What's the halfway house like for them? Stricter than the institution they just left, in several specific ways, and this catches almost everyone out. Sign-in and sign-out, a curfew, passes approved in advance for anything including seeing you, mandatory employment, testing, and a percentage of their gross pay taken as subsistence. They will have less autonomy than they had at a camp. Say this to each other beforehand. [The full version](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement). ### Why do people mess up right at the end? Because the rules feel absurd by then and the finish line makes people careless. Violations cluster in the last sixty days, and a violation there sends them back. Tell them this out loud. They will not want to hear it from you and they need to hear it from somebody. ### Can they come straight home instead? Sometimes, and it is not the default. The usual shape is halfway house first and home confinement for the last stretch. Straight to home confinement requires an approved residence, which means the address work starts months ahead and whoever lives there has to genuinely agree, including to an officer arriving unannounced. “You can stay with us” is a different conversation from that one. Have the second one before the referral goes in. ### What is home confinement actually like for the household? Observed I did the house arrest, so their half of this I know. Yours I only heard about. Their half: they are at an address, on a schedule, usually monitored, and every deviation from it (a shift change, a doctor's appointment, a funeral) needs approval in advance from a person who may not answer today. It is freedom with a leash of a very specific length, and the length is the part that grates. Yours, as it was described to me: the house is now partly a compliance environment. Officers may come to it. Their schedule sets the household's. And the thing families said they were least prepared for is that they are home and it is still not over, so the relief everyone was waiting for keeps getting deferred. Plan for it to be a phase rather than the arrival. The arrival comes later. ## Your house — Rules that land on you ### What are the rules I have to follow in my own house? Read the actual judgment rather than anyone's summary of it, including mine. The special conditions are where this lives and they are case-specific. Depending on the case they can restrict monitoring software on devices in the home, who may be present, travel, and firearms in the residence. Those bind your household, not only them, and you get no vote and no notice. Sort it out before they walk in the door, not in the first week. [Supervised release](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/supervised-release) is the long version. ### Can we have guns in the house? No. Federal law prohibits firearm possession following a felony conviction, and that includes firearms in a residence they live in, because possession does not require them to be their. If there are guns in your home, they leave the property before they arrive, not locked in a safe they do not have the combination to. A firearm in the house is among the fastest routes back, and it is a new federal charge rather than a violation. ### Can they travel? Can we take a vacation? Eventually, with permission. Leaving the judicial district requires their probation officer's approval, which means asking in advance and building a record of asking in advance. During halfway house and home confinement, effectively no. After that, a routine request from someone with clean compliance is usually granted. A first request that happens to be for two weeks abroad is not the one to lead with. International travel is a separate and much harder question. Ask before you book anything. ## Rebuilding — Documents, work, and money ### How do they get an ID, a bank account, a phone? In dependency order, and the order is the whole game: phone number, then a primary email they control, then birth certificate, Social Security card, state ID. Nothing else works until those do. No bank, no lease, no job, no benefits. Each one is the prerequisite for the next, and doing them out of order is how a month disappears. The bank denial, when it comes, is usually not about their conviction. It is an old overdraft sitting in a screening database. Pull the report, dispute what is wrong, and look at credit unions and second-chance accounts. [Documents come first](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back) has the sequence written out. ### How do they get a job? Disclose early, to the decision maker, in plain language. Small companies rather than large ones, because large ones have a policy and small ones have a person. The longer they wait to say it the worse it goes, because a late reveal reads as concealment. And the people who hesitate were never going to be good to work for. [The full version](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-a-job-with-a-felony). Halfway house employment is mandatory and it is not a career. It is a box to tick so they can get to the next stage. Do not let either of you treat the first job as the verdict. ### What about the restitution? It does not end with the sentence. Payments continue after release and are typically a condition of supervision, which means a missed payment is a supervision problem before it is a financial one. Pay it on the record, consistently, even when the amount is small. A documented history of consistent payment is the thing that supports any later request to modify the schedule, and there is no substitute for it. ## The reunion — The part nobody rehearses ### What do I do if they're struggling and won't say so? Observed I was the one struggling and not saying so, so take the diagnosis as firsthand and the advice as watched. What it looks like: they are fine. They are helpful and agreeable and slightly absent, they do not want to make decisions, and they get strange about things that seem small: a full grocery store, an unplanned change, being asked what they want for dinner. A year of not choosing anything does something to the part of a person that chooses. What does not work is asking whether they are okay, because they have been answering that question professionally for a year. What I saw work: give them small decisions and let them be slow. Do not decide everything because it is faster. It is faster, and it is how a man ends up a guest in their own house. Start counseling before the friction rather than after, when it is much easier to begin. And say the specific thing you noticed rather than the general one, because “you went quiet when we walked in there” gets an answer and “are you okay” does not. ### How long until things feel normal? Observed Longer than either of you is planning for, and normal is probably the wrong target. What men told me afterward, consistently: months rather than weeks for the practical part, and that the relationship did not go back to what it was but became something else. You ran a household alone and changed in ways they were not there for. They changed in ways they cannot see and you can. Both of those are real and neither is anyone's fault. The families who did best expected renegotiation rather than restoration. The ones who struggled were the ones waiting to resume a life that had, in fairness, ended some time ago. And the thing I would most want you to hear: your own crash tends to arrive about a month after they are home, when it is finally safe to feel it. That is normal too, and [the section about you](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq/is-it-normal-to-feel-this-way) is where the rest of that lives. ### [For families](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide) These are the answers. The guide is the reasoning underneath them: the first two weeks, mail, visiting, money, their release date, the halfway house push, working the system, and your life. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist # Things just for you Ten for each stage, ordered by what getting them wrong actually costs. Two things to know before you start. Nothing in this system happens because it ought to happen. It happens because someone asked, and then asked again, and wrote down when they asked. And the Bureau of Prisons will not proactively tell you anything, ever. Every piece of information you get, you will have gone and found. ## Scope — The handbook beats me Local rules vary enormously between institutions and they change constantly. Every facility publishes an admission and orientation handbook. It is often out of date, and it still takes precedence over anything written here. Find it, read it, keep it. This is the short form for those who want it short. [The family guide](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide) covers this stuff at length, and [the family FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq) answers questions one at a time. ## Pick your stage ### [1. Before they go](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-before-they-report) Most of this period belongs to them. Your part is narrow, has deadlines, and is easy to miss entirely. ### [2. While they're in](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-while-they-are-inside) This is the stage where what you do changes the outcome. It is also the stage nobody tells you that you have a job at all. ### [3. As they come home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-before-they-come-home) Everyone expects this to be the easy part. It is frequently the hardest, and most of the difficulty is not the part you are bracing for. ## There is stuff for them, too Thirty items on [their side](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist), covering the same three stages from inside. The two lists barely overlap, which is why this one exists separately. Print theirs and hand it to them before they report. They will not be able to look it up later. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-before-they-report # Before they go Most of this period belongs to them. Your part is narrow, has deadlines, and is easy to miss entirely. ## In order of what it costs you — The ten 1. **Get the handoff document while they can still answer questions** Accounts, passwords, deadlines, contacts, and what you are authorized to decide without asking them. If they have not started it, make them start it. Read it now. The gaps you find today are the ones you would otherwise discover alone in eight months. 2. **Test the account access yourself** Do not accept a description of access. Log in. Two-factor tied to a phone they will not have is the single most common way a family gets locked out of their own finances. 3. **Get a power of attorney executed** Plus signature authority on anything that has to stay live, and autopay on anything whose lapse cascades: insurance, storage, the mortgage. 4. **Keep a copy of their presentence report** They are not permitted to keep one inside. You may need to quote from it when a case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) gets something wrong, and you will not be able to get it later without effort. Keep their judgment and commitment order too. Both are the source documents for everything the Bureau will later tell you about their sentence. 5. **Write down their committed name and register number, exactly** Exactly as they appear on the judgment. Nothing works without them, not mail (paper letters, opened and screened), not money, not visiting. Wrong or missing register numbers are the most common reason things never arrive. 6. **Start the visiting paperwork before they report** Approval means a form, a background check, and weeks of waiting. Families who start after they arrive lose their first few months of visits. [The visiting chapter](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-a-visit-is-like) has the sequence and the dress code that turns people away at the door. 7. **Test the phone number they will be calling** The system requires you to press a key to accept the call, and some virtual numbers do not pass that keypress through. Google Voice is the usual failure. Find out now, not when they are spending their minutes on a call that will not connect. 8. **Look at the household on one income** Do the arithmetic before savings are gone rather than after. Check what benefits you may qualify for early: a great many families never check until it is too late to help. 9. **Do not panic-sell, and do not pay anyone who promises a facility** Nobody can get them to a camp. Not a lawyer, not a consultant, not for any amount of money. The classification score is the score. Anyone charging you for placement is charging you for something they do not control, and [that pitch has its own page](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison). 10. **Decide what you tell the children, and tell them the truth** Age-appropriate honesty holds up. Cover stories collapse, and the collapse is worse than the truth would have been. Every item here stands in for a chapter of [before they go](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/what-you-need-before-they-report). Their own list for this stage is [the other checklist](https://federalprisondude.com/going-to-federal-prison/checklist/ten-things-before-you-report), and the two barely overlap, which is the point. ### [While they're in](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-while-they-are-inside) This is the stage where what you do changes the outcome. It is also the stage nobody tells you that you have a job at all. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-while-they-are-inside # While they're in This is the stage where what you do changes the outcome. It is also the stage nobody tells you that you have a job at all. ## In order of what it costs you — The ten 1. **Learn their release date and count backward to the referral window** Policy contemplates that their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) makes a pre-release referral roughly seventeen to nineteen months before their projected release date. The date on the public inmate locator is not their halfway house date, and the difference between them can be many months. Their halfway house date is the one that determines when they come home to you. [Run both numbers here](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-release-date-calculator). 2. **Call the case manager about the halfway house referral** Politely, specifically, and on a fixed schedule rather than when you get anxious. Ask when the referral is scheduled and what length is being recommended. Nothing happens until someone asks. Two points of pressure (theirs and yours) work better than either alone. 3. **Keep a log** Date, who you spoke to, their title, what you asked, what they said, what they committed to. Two minutes per call. It is the difference between having an argument and having a file, and it is the single most useful habit on this list. 4. **Make your mail unrejectable** Nobody in the mailroom is paid to decide whether your letter is fine. Discretion runs one direction, and it runs toward rejection. Exact address format, register number, complete return address, under the page limit, no stickers, no glitter, no tape, no perfume, no Polaroids. [The full rejection list](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/how-mail-works) is worth reading once before you send anything. 5. **Read their facility's handbook and keep it** Visiting hours, dress code, property limits, page limits, commissary (the prison store) list. It is specific to their institution and it governs over anything anyone tells you, including me. 6. **Understand that money you send is not entirely theirs** If they owe restitution, the financial responsibility program takes a share of what comes into their account, recalculated based on how much arrives. Sending more can increase what gets taken. Ask them what their current schedule is before making a large deposit. 7. **Push without making it worse for them** Your person is the one who lives there. A family member who screams at a case manager creates a problem that lands on them, not on you. One issue per call, stated in two sentences, with a specific ask and a date. Get the person's name. 8. **Use congressional constituent services** Your representative's and senators' offices have caseworkers whose job is helping constituents with federal agencies. It is free, it is routine, and almost no family thinks of it. It works on documentable problems. A referral that has not happened, medical care that has not been provided. You will need a signed privacy release from them. 9. **Keep visiting, even though the crash afterward is real** Good visits and good calls are followed by a hard drop, for both of you. It is universal and almost nobody mentions it. Do not stop visiting to avoid the crash. That trade looks rational and is not. 10. **Get support that is not a sales funnel** Facility family groups are genuinely useful for logistics. What the mailroom is rejecting this month, how long approval is taking. They are also full of people selling consulting. Take the logistics, verify anything that matters against the handbook, ignore the sales. [A vetted starting point](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Items two, three, seven, and eight are the whole of [working the system](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/getting-answers-out-of-the-bop) and [the halfway house push](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/pushing-for-halfway-house-time). If you only read one chapter of the family guide, read the second of those. ### [As they come home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-before-they-come-home) Everyone expects this to be the easy part. It is frequently the hardest, and most of the difficulty is not the part you are bracing for. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/checklist/ten-things-before-they-come-home # As they come home Everyone expects this to be the easy part. It is frequently the hardest, and most of the difficulty is not the part you are bracing for. ## In order of what it costs you — The ten 1. **Read their supervised release conditions before they walk in the door** They constrain your household, not just them. Depending on the case that can mean monitoring software on devices in the home, restrictions on who may be present, travel limits, and a prohibition on firearms in the residence. Sort this out in advance. A firearm in the house is among the fastest routes back. 2. **Understand the halfway house is stricter than you expect** Sign-in and sign-out, curfews, passes approved in advance, mandatory employment, testing, and a percentage of their gross income taken as subsistence. It is not the homecoming either of you has been picturing, and it usually comes first. [What it is actually like](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/halfway-house-and-home-confinement). 3. **Expect the last sixty days to be the riskiest of the whole sentence** Violations cluster at the end, because the rules feel absurd by then and the finish line makes people careless. A violation here sends them back. Say this out loud to them. They will not want to hear it and they need to. 4. **Their residence has to be approved before they can come to it** Which means the address work happens months ahead, and whoever lives there has to genuinely agree, including to an officer arriving unannounced. “You can stay with us” is not the same conversation as that one. Have the second one. 5. **Do not let their medication lapse** They leave with a limited supply and no provider. Release is a qualifying event for health coverage and the window is limited. If they had a substance problem before, the weeks after release are a documented mortality spike, and their tolerance is gone. Have something in place before they walk out. 6. **They arrive with nothing and owe money** No ID, no bank account, no credit, and a restitution balance that continues after release as a supervision condition. [Documents come first](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison/getting-your-id-back). Nothing else works until those do, and each one gates the next. 7. **Let them make small decisions** A year of not choosing when to eat or where to stand does something to the part of a person that makes decisions. Standing in a grocery store unable to pick is normal, temporary, and disorienting. Do not decide everything for them because it is faster. It is faster. 8. **Expect renegotiation, not a return to how things were** You ran a household alone and changed in ways they were not there for. They changed in ways they cannot see and you can. Both are real. The reunion is rarely the one either of you rehearsed, and that is not a sign anything is wrong. 9. **Start counseling before the friction, not after** It helps considerably more than people expect and it is much easier to begin when nothing is currently on fire. 10. **Take your own recovery seriously** You have been running on adrenaline and logistics for a long time. It tends to arrive all at once about a month after they are home, when it is finally safe to feel it. That is normal too. The household side is [coming home](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/guide/when-they-come-home). Their side of the same months (supervision, documents, banking, work, and the part nobody prepares them for) is [getting out](https://federalprisondude.com/getting-out-of-federal-prison). ### [The family FAQ](https://federalprisondude.com/federal-prison-for-families/faq) These are the things worth doing. The FAQ is the hundred other questions, answered one at a time: mail, visiting, money, their release date, the kids, and you. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Family%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1315-08-inmate-legal-activities # Inmate Legal Activities PS 1315.08 (5/7/2026) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/1315_008.pdf) How legal work actually happens inside: the law library (now electronic, on the TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored) terminals), the stand-alone computers for reviewing your own e-discovery, attorney visits, and what survives a trip to the SHU (solitary). If someone is still fighting their case from inside, this is the policy that governs the tools they get. And when access gets denied, the lever is the grievance system, [PS 1330.18](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program). **A local supplement almost certainly applies** Wardens issue institution supplements to fill in whatever national policy leaves up to the facility, and this is one of the policies they supplement most often. What's below is the national floor. The supplement is the version staff actually work from day to day: the hours, the limits, the forms, the local exceptions. It can't contradict the policy below, but it can be far more specific than anything on this page, and it's usually where the rule you can't find here lives. No supplements are posted on this site yet. They're written facility by facility and the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) doesn't publish them in one place, so they go up as I get current copies. Until then, the person inside can ask their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) for the institution supplement to PS 1315.08, usually numbered with the facility's code in front of it and kept in the law library. [The facility's Facebook group](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) is the other place people find out what the local version says. SUMMARY OF CHANGES (EXCERPT) Program Statement Rescinded: 1315.07, CN-1 Legal Activities, Inmate (8/1/2023) Changes: Incorporates Change Notice 1315.07, CN-1, addressing alternative legal access arrangements and notification of visiting disruption when a significant or disruptive event affects legal and/or social visiting. Eliminates requirement to maintain physical law libraries. Law library materials are now available to inmates via an electronic law library (ELL). This change eliminates Attachments A, B, and C, which are replaced by a list of resources in the ELL maintained on the Information Technology and Data Division (ITDD) page of the Bureau’s intranet site. > Big 2026 change: the physical law library is gone. Legal research is now done on computers, the 'electronic law library,' accessed through the TRULINCS system. If your mental picture of prison is a guy with a stack of law books, update it. It's screens now. Creates BP-A1155, E-Discovery Material Authorization form. Eliminates attachments D, E, and F, as they are available on the form directory page of the Bureau’s intranet site. Provides guidance on inmate access to discovery material produced in their criminal case in electronic format (e-discovery), and guidance on Bureau provided stand-alone computers that allow review of e-discovery material. > Another new one, and it matters a lot for anyone still fighting their case: the policy now lays out how you get access to your own e-discovery (the electronic evidence in your criminal case) on special stand-alone computers inside. Modern cases come with terabytes of digital discovery, and this is how a defendant reviews it while locked up. Covered in detail below. Bureau regulations regarding attorney visits were amended by an interim final rule published in 89 Fed. Reg. 8330 (Feb. 7, 2024). Those changes are incorporated in Section 7. Adds guidance addressing enforcement of the dress code for legal visitors. Provides guidance on use of laptops during legal visits. Clarifies the procedures for admission of legal assistants for legal visitation and who qualifies as a “legal assistant.” Provides guidance for attorney requests to allow an attorney retained expert to visit with an inmate. Provides guidance on legal visits for individuals on suicide watch or psychological observation. SECTION 1: § 543.10 PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) The Bureau of Prisons affords an inmate reasonable access to legal materials and counsel, and reasonable opportunity to prepare legal documents. The Warden shall establish an inmate law library, and procedures for access to legal reference materials and to legal counsel, and for preparation of legal documents. > The core promise of this whole policy: you get reasonable access to legal materials, to your lawyer, and to time and tools to prepare documents. 'Reasonable' is the operative word and it's the source of most disputes. If access is being denied outright, that's a problem you can push on, including through the grievance system. a. Program Objectives. ■ Inmates will have reasonable access to legal research material and the opportunity to prepare legal documents. ■ Inmates will have reasonable access to legal visits. ■ Attorneys and their legal assistants will have reasonable opportunity to access their clients in Bureau custody. ■ Inmates and staff will be able to make oaths and affirmations and have them witnessed by institution Case Managers, as authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 4004. SECTION 2: ELECTRONIC LAW LIBRARIES (EXCERPT) All Bureau institutions will maintain electronic law libraries (ELL) containing materials listed on the ITDD page of the Bureau’s intranet site. Inmates may access the ELL on the TRULINCS computer system. TRULINCS workstations are ordinarily located in housing units, Special Housing Units (SHU), the Education Department, and other locations deemed appropriate by the Warden. > The electronic law library lives on the same TRULINCS terminals used for email, and the workstations are in the housing units, the SHU, and education. So even someone in the SHU (solitary) is supposed to have a path to legal materials. Practically, terminal time is shared and can get tight. The ITDD in Central Office will maintain the ELL content and database. Each institution is responsible for maintaining the workstations and ensuring that ELL workstations are functioning and accessible for inmate use. Each institution must have print stations that allow inmates to print material from the ELL. For additional information, see the Program Statement Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual. Inmates who demonstrate a requirement to meet an imminent court deadline, ordinarily within 30 days, may be allowed additional time to conduct legal research on the ELL. If additional time is needed, the inmate should submit a request to their Unit Management team. > You can print what you find, and if you've got a real court deadline coming (roughly within 30 days), you can ask your unit team for extra research time. That deadline-based extra time is a right worth invoking. If someone inside is up against a filing date, they should put the request in writing to the unit team, not just hope for the best. Access to ELL workstations should be available as soon as practicable following a lockdown or other disruptive event that results in loss of access to ELL workstations. SECTION 5: § 543.11 LEGAL RESEARCH AND PREPARATION OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS (EXCERPT) In accordance with the Program Statement Information Security, inmates may receive electronic discovery (e-discovery) material pertaining to their own case which is necessary for ongoing criminal proceedings, for ongoing federal civil proceedings where e-discovery is required, or in cases where there are special circumstances necessitating the use of e-discovery. If there is a question about whether there are special circumstances necessitating the use of e-discovery, the Regional Counsel may be consulted. E-discovery material may only be accepted from the inmate’s attorney or a U.S. Attorney’s Office and must be read-only format. Attorneys seeking to provide e-discovery to an inmate must obtain prior approval from the Warden or their designee and must complete and submit the BP-A1155, E-Discovery Material Authorization form. This form may be tailored locally. Electronic formats include external hard drives and USB thumb drives. The e-discovery media may be on a hard drive storage device or USB drive. Compact discs (CDs) and Digital Video Discs (DVDs) are not authorized. Each institution will develop procedures describing how legal representatives may request authorization to send e-discovery to an inmate, how it may be sent to the inmate, and how that e-discovery will be maintained at the facility. > How e-discovery actually gets in: your attorney (or the U.S. Attorney's office) sends it on a read-only drive or thumb drive, using the authorization form, and the facility scans it for viruses and prohibited content. You can't just have someone mail you a hard drive of files. It comes through your lawyer, on approved media, and it can only contain the discovery, nothing else. Approved e-discovery media may only contain discovery material in a criminal case, in an ongoing federal civil proceeding where e-discovery is required, or in other cases presenting special circumstances requiring the use of e-discovery. Prohibited data includes but is not limited to pornography, nudity, personal photos, personal communications from third parties, games, movies, music, executable programs such as readers, password protection/security suites, and viruses. The e-discovery media is subject to external search and scanning for viruses and malware. Staff may not read the content and copying is prohibited. If staff discover that the device includes prohibited data, the sending attorney will be contacted to resolve the issue which may include returning the device to the sending attorney for corrective action. There are two categories of e-discovery material: 1. Normal Access E-Discovery (NAE-D). This is discovery material that an inmate may possess when not actively viewing it and the material does not pose an unacceptable risk if viewed or accessed by others. This is the default category of e-discovery access and should be the more common way for an inmate to receive and access e-discovery. 2. Sensitive Access E-Discovery (SAE-D). SAE-D refers to e-discovery materials that cannot be in the inmate’s possession except during active viewing and must be reviewed in a private, secure area. These materials pose an unacceptable risk if viewed or accessed by others. SAE-D is ordinarily subject to a protective or discovery order. If the material is not subject to a protective order, the sending attorney must submit an explanation to justify categorizing the discovery material as SAE-D. The media containing SAE-D material must be secured by staff when not in use. The submitting attorney is responsible for marking such materials as SAE-D. > Your e-discovery comes in two flavors. Normal access is the default, you keep the drive in your locker and view it on the discovery computer. Sensitive access is for material under a protective order or that's risky if others see it (think victim info, cooperator material); that stays locked up with staff and you only view it in a private setting. If your case has sensitive discovery, expect the tighter handling. Your attorney marks which is which. All e-discovery media must be handled in a manner which prevents unauthorized access. Each inmate is responsible for securing their approved e-discovery media in their assigned locker when not being reviewed. For security and housekeeping reasons, Wardens may require approved e-discovery media to be stored by an appropriate department when not being reviewed. Because e-discovery material may contain sensitive information that could affect the inmate’s security and privacy, inmates should not permit other inmates to view or have access to this material. > A real safety point: don't let other inmates see your discovery. It can contain information (who cooperated, victim details, the government's theory) that can get someone hurt inside if it circulates. This is your file, keep it to yourself. The policy flags it as a security and privacy risk for good reason. All Bureau institutions are allocated stand-alone computers for inmates to review e-discovery material. A list of formats supported by the discovery computers is available on the Bureau’s public webpage. Discovery computers should be positioned in a manner that allows opportunity to view the material in a confidential setting to the greatest extent practicable. SECTION 5: § 543.11 LEGAL RESEARCH AND PREPARATION OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS (EXCERPT) (g) The institution staff shall, upon an inmate's request and at times scheduled by staff, duplicate legal documents if the inmate demonstrates that more than one copy must be submitted to court and that the duplication cannot be accomplished by use of carbon paper. The inmate shall bear the cost, and the duplication shall be done so as not to interfere with regular institution operations. Staff may waive the cost if the inmate is without funds or if the material to be duplicated is minimal, and the inmate's requests for duplication are not large or excessive. > Need copies for court? Staff will duplicate legal documents, you normally pay for it, but they can waive the cost if you're broke or it's just a few pages. So being out of money doesn't stop you from getting court copies made. If someone's account is empty and they've got a filing due, the copy fee can be waived. In such cases, staff may request the inmate follow procedures for reimbursement for the amount of legal copies received at the government’s expense. Inmates must complete the paper version of the BP-199 (“green form”) and submit the form for processing to Trust Fund through their Unit Manager. To prevent abuses of this provision (e.g., inmate shows a pattern of depleting their commissary funds prior to requesting duplication of legal documents) the Warden may impose restrictions on the provisions of subsection (g). (h) Unless clearly impractical, the Warden shall allow an inmate preparing legal documents to use a typewriter, or, if the inmate cannot type, to have another inmate type his documents. The Warden may allow the inmate to hire a public stenographer to type documents outside the institution, but the institution may not assume the expense of hiring the public stenographer. Staff shall advise the inmate of any delay in the typing of which they have received notice from the stenographer. (i) The Warden shall give special time allowance for research and preparation of documents to an inmate who demonstrates a requirement to meet an imminent court deadline. Otherwise, each inmate shall continue his regular institutional activities without undue disruption by legal activities. > A deadline can get your work schedule adjusted. If you've got a court date bearing down, the prison is supposed to give you extra time, even letting you work reduced hours to make room for legal prep. Normally legal work happens on your own leisure time, but a real deadline changes that. Document the deadline and ask. Inmates who request time to do legal research and preparation for filing legal documents during their regularly scheduled work time may be required to do so first during all available leisure time. When such requests are made, staff may also authorize the inmate to work reduced hours. For example, an inmate may be allowed mornings to do legal research, work in the afternoons, and then use evenings for further research. The Regional Counsel may be consulted regarding such arrangements. (j) With consideration of the needs of other inmates and the availability of staff and other resources, the Warden shall provide an inmate confined in disciplinary segregation or administrative detention a means of access to legal materials, along with an opportunity to prepare legal documents. The Warden shall allow an inmate in segregation or detention a reasonable amount of personal legal materials. In no case shall the amount of personal legal materials be such as to pose a fire, sanitation, security, or housekeeping hazard. > Even in the SHU (solitary), you don't lose access to your legal work. You're allowed a reasonable amount of your own legal materials, about a cubic foot's worth, and more if you have an imminent deadline. So getting sent to segregation doesn't legally cut you off from working your case, though in practice it's slower and harder. A reasonable amount of personal legal material in segregation or detention is approximately one cubic foot. Greater amounts may be allowed when an inmate has an imminent court deadline. The Regional Counsel should be consulted before the accumulation of legal materials is limited for housekeeping reasons. SECTION 6: § 543.12 RETENTION OF ATTORNEYS (EXCERPT) (a) The Warden shall allow an inmate to contact and retain attorneys. With the written consent of the inmate, staff may advise an attorney of the inmate's available funds. Staff may not interfere with selection and retention of attorneys if the inmate has attained majority and is mentally competent. If the inmate is a mental incompetent or a minor, the Warden shall refer to the inmate's guardian or to the appropriate court all matters concerning the retention and payment of attorneys. > You have the right to find and hire your own lawyer, and staff can't interfere with that choice. The prison also has to make available a list of legal resources, including pro bono attorneys and legal aid. If someone inside needs counsel and can't afford it, that resource list is a starting point. Note the BOP won't act as a middleman for paying or collecting attorney fees, that's between you and the lawyer. The Warden must ensure that a list of legal resources, including attorneys acting pro bono or through an established legal aid program at the institution, is made available. (b) The Bureau of Prisons may not act as guarantor or collector of fees. As to correspondence with attorneys and telephone calls to attorneys, see part 540 of this chapter. Part 540 refers to the Program Statements Correspondence and Inmate Telephone Regulations. SECTION 7: § 543.13 VISITS BY ATTORNEYS (EXCERPT) (a) The Warden shall, under the conditions of this section, permit visits by the retained, appointed, or prospective attorney of an inmate or by an attorney who wishes to interview an inmate as a witness. (b) The Warden generally may not limit the frequency of attorney visits since the number of visits necessary is dependent upon the nature and urgency of the legal problems involved. The Warden shall set the time and place for visits, which ordinarily take place during regular visiting hours. Attorney visits shall take place in a private conference room, if available, or in a regular visiting room in an area and at a time designed to allow a degree of privacy. The Warden may make exceptions according to local conditions or for an emergency situation demonstrated by the inmate or visiting attorney. > Attorney visits aren't rationed like social visits. The prison generally can't cap how often your lawyer comes, because that depends on the case, and these visits are supposed to happen with real privacy, ideally in a private conference room. This is a meaningful difference from regular visiting: legal visits get more frequency and more confidentiality. If a facility is treating attorney visits like normal visits, that's not right. Alternative Legal Access Arrangements. To ensure inmates have access to legal counsel as soon as it is safely possible after a significant or disruptive event at a facility exceeds 24 hours, each facility will develop alternative legal access arrangements. These plans may include, but are not limited to, alternative visiting locations at the facility, expansion of normal visiting hours, and any additional procedures consistent with the mission and security of the facility. Restriction of legal access should occur only when necessary to protect the safety and security of staff, inmates, or the public. > When a facility goes on lockdown (a fight, an incident, an emergency) for more than 24 hours, legal access can't just vanish. Each prison has to have a backup plan to restore contact with lawyers as soon as it's safe. This got added because long lockdowns were cutting people off from counsel. If a loved one is locked down and a legal deadline is looming, this backup-access rule is the thing to point to. Notification of Visiting Disruption. In instances where there is a significant or disruptive event affecting the conditions of confinement and institution management decides to restrict legal access and/or social visiting, staff must make all reasonable efforts to notify all known parties affected by the disruption. This includes, but is not limited to inmate families, defense counsel, local courts, and the public. For facilities housing pretrial inmates, such notice must also be made to the local Federal Public Defender Office(s), the local United States District Court(s), and the local United States Attorney’s Office(s). This information can be transmitted via telephone, email, or listed on the Institution’s webpage. To the extent practicable, staff are to provide an area for attorney-client visits that ensures their conversation has a high degree of privacy. Source: PS 1315.08 (5/7/2026), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/1315\_008.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/1315_008.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program # Administrative Remedy Program PS 1330.18 (1/6/2014) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/1330_018.pdf) The BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s official complaint system, the thing people mean when they say "file a BP-9." It's the paper trail for everything from bad medical care to a bogus shot (a disciplinary write-up), and the deadlines are short and unforgiving. Learn it before something goes wrong, because the 20-day clock doesn't pause while you figure out the forms. And if a problem might ever see a courtroom, running this ladder all the way up is usually the price of admission. SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE §542.10 (EXCERPT) a. Purpose. The purpose of the Administrative Remedy Program is to allow an inmate to seek formal review of an issue relating to any aspect of his/her own confinement. An inmate may not submit a Request or Appeal on behalf of another inmate. Inmates seeking a formal review of issues relating to sexual abuse should use the regulations promulgated by the Department of Justice under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, 42 U.S.C. § 15606, et seq. These procedures are provided in Section 16 of this Program Statement. > This is the official complaint system. If something about your confinement is wrong (medical care, a lost property claim, a disciplinary call, sentence computation, staff conduct), this is how you formally challenge it and create a paper trail. Two ground rules up front: you can only file about your own situation, not someone else's, and the whole thing has strict deadlines that people blow constantly. Learn it early. b. Scope. This Program applies to all inmates in institutions operated by the Bureau of Prisons, to inmates designated to contract Community Corrections Centers (CCCs) under Bureau of Prisons responsibility, and to former inmates for issues that arose during their confinement. This Program does not apply to inmates confined in other non-federal facilities. The president of a recognized inmate organization may submit a request on behalf of that organization regarding an issue that specifically affects that organization. > The system covers you in a regular prison, in a halfway house, and even after release for things that happened while you were in. If you got out and there's an unresolved issue from inside, you may still be able to file. It does not cover people held in non-federal facilities. c. Statutorily-mandated Procedures. There are statutorily-mandated procedures in place for Tort claims (28 CFR 543, subpart C), Inmate Accident Compensation claims (28 CFR 301), and Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act requests (28 CFR 513, subpart D). If an inmate raises an issue in a request or appeal that cannot be resolved through the Administrative Remedy Program, the Bureau will refer the inmate to the appropriate statutorily-mandated procedures. SECTION 7: INFORMAL RESOLUTION §542.13 (EXCERPT) a. Informal Resolution. Except as provided in §542.13(b), an inmate shall first present an issue of concern informally to staff, and staff shall attempt to informally resolve the issue before an inmate submits a Request for Administrative Remedy. Each warden shall establish procedures to allow for the informal resolution of inmate complaints. The Warden is responsible for ensuring that effective informal resolution procedures are in place and that good faith attempts at informal resolution are made in an orderly and timely manner by both inmates and staff. These procedures may not operate to limit inmate access to formal filing of a Request. > Step one is informal. Before you file the paperwork, you're supposed to try to work it out with staff first. This is the BP-8, the informal resolution attempt, usually handled through your counselor. Skipping it can get your formal request bounced, so do it and keep proof you did. b. Exceptions. Inmates in CCCs are not required to attempt informal resolution. An informal resolution attempt is not required prior to submission to the regional or Central Office as provided for in §542.14(d) of this part. An informal resolution attempt may be waived in individual cases at the Warden or institution Administrative Remedy Coordinator’s discretion when the inmate demonstrates an acceptable reason for bypassing informal resolution. For example, the Warden may waive informal resolution for Unit Discipline Committee (UDC) appeals, or when informal resolution is deemed inappropriate due to the issue's sensitivity. Although not mandatory, inmates may attempt informal resolution of DHO decisions. See the Program Statement Inmate Discipline Program. > The informal step can be skipped in certain cases, like appealing a disciplinary decision or when the issue is too sensitive to raise quietly. Don't assume you qualify for a skip, but know it exists. SECTION 8: INITIAL FILING §542.14 (EXCERPT) a. Submission. The deadline for completion of informal resolution and submission of a formal written Administrative Remedy Request, on the appropriate form (BP-9), is 20 calendar days following the date on which the basis for the Request occurred. In accord with the settlement in Washington v. Reno, and for such period of time as this settlement remains in effect, the deadline for completing informal resolution and submitting a formal written Administrative Remedy Request, on the appropriate form (BP-9) (BP-229), for a disputed telephone charge, credit, or telephone service problem for which the inmate requests reimbursement to his/her telephone account, is 120 days from the date of the disputed telephone charge, credit, or telephone service problem. Administrative Remedy Requests concerning telephone issues that do not involve billing disputes or requests for refunds for telephone service problems (such as Administrative Remedy Requests concerning telephone privileges, telephone lists, or telephone access) are governed by the 20-day filing deadline. > One exception to the 20-day rule: if you're disputing a phone charge and want money credited back to your phone account, you get 120 days instead of 20. But this longer window is only for billing refunds. Complaints about phone privileges, phone lists, or phone access still run on the normal 20-day clock. > Here's the clock that trips everyone up: you have 20 calendar days from when the problem happened to finish the informal step AND file the formal complaint (the BP-9). That's not a lot of time. If something goes wrong, start the process immediately, don't sit on it. Miss the 20 days without a valid excuse and your complaint can be rejected as untimely. b. Extension. Where the inmate demonstrates a valid reason for delay, an extension in filing time may be allowed. In general, valid reason for delay means a situation which prevented the inmate from submitting the request within the established time frame. Valid reasons for delay include the following: an extended period in-transit during which the inmate was separated from documents needed to prepare the Request or Appeal; an extended period of time during which the inmate was physically incapable of preparing a Request or Appeal; an unusually long period taken for informal resolution attempts; indication by an inmate, verified by staff, that a response to the inmate’s request for copies of dispositions requested under §542.19 of this part was delayed. Ordinarily, the inmate should submit written verification from staff for any claimed reason for delay. If an inmate requests an Administrative Remedy form but has not attempted informal resolution, staff should counsel the inmate that informal resolution is ordinarily required. If the inmate nevertheless refuses to present a request informally, staff should provide the form for a formal Request. Upon receipt of the inmate’s submission, the Coordinator shall accept the Request if, in the Coordinator's discretion, informal resolution was bypassed for valid reasons, or may reject it if there are no valid reasons for bypassing informal resolution. > If you missed a deadline for a real reason, being in transit and cut off from your paperwork, being physically unable to write, they can grant an extension. But you ordinarily need staff to put the reason in writing to back you up. 'I forgot' or 'I didn't know' won't cut it. c. Form (1) The inmate shall obtain the appropriate form from CCC staff or institution staff (ordinarily, the correctional counselor). The following forms are appropriate: ■ Request for Administrative Remedy, Form BP-9 (BP-229), is appropriate for filing at the institution. ■ Regional Administrative Remedy Appeal, Form BP-10 (BP-230), is appropriate for submitting an appeal to the regional office. ■ Central Office Administrative Remedy Appeal, Form BP-11 (BP-231), is appropriate for submitting an appeal to the Central Office. (2) The inmate shall place a single complaint or a reasonable number of closely related issues on the form. If the inmate includes on a single form multiple unrelated issues, the submission shall be rejected and returned without response, and the inmate shall be advised to use a separate form for each unrelated issue. For DHO and UDC appeals, each separate incident report number must be appealed on a separate form. Placing a single issue or closely related issues on a single form facilitates indexing, and promotes efficient, timely and comprehensive attention to the issues raised. > One issue per form. If you cram several unrelated complaints onto a single form, the whole thing gets kicked back unanswered. Separate problems need separate filings. This is a common reason submissions get bounced on a technicality. > The whole ladder, in order: informal attempt (BP-8), then the formal complaint to the warden (BP-9), then appeal to the regional office (BP-10), then final appeal to the Central Office / General Counsel (BP-11). People inside talk about 'filing a BP-9' or 'taking it to the BP-11.' This is what they mean. Each rung is a different form and a different office. (3) The inmate shall complete the form with all requested identifying information and shall state the complaint in the space provided on the form. If more space is needed, the inmate may use up to one letter-size (8 1/2" by 11") continuation page. The inmate must provide an additional copy of any continuation page. The inmate must submit one copy of supporting exhibits. Exhibits will not be returned with the response. Because copies of exhibits must be filed for any appeal (see § 542.15 (b) (3)), the inmate is encouraged to retain a copy of all exhibits for his or her personal records. (4) The inmate shall date and sign the Request and submit it to the institution staff member designated to receive such Requests (ordinarily a correctional counselor). CCC inmates may mail their Requests to the CCM. > Keep copies of everything. Whatever documents you attach don't come back to you, and you'll need them again if you appeal to the next level. Never send your only copy. Photocopy your whole filing before it leaves your hands. d. Exceptions to Initial Filing at Institution (1) Sensitive Issues. If the inmate reasonably believes the issue is sensitive and the inmate’s safety or well-being would be placed in danger if the Request became known at the institution, the inmate may submit the Request directly to the appropriate Regional Director. The inmate shall clearly mark “Sensitive” upon the Request and explain, in writing, the reason for not submitting the Request at the institution. If the Regional Administrative Remedy Coordinator agrees that the Request is sensitive, the Request shall be accepted. Otherwise, the Request will not be accepted, and the inmate shall be advised in writing of that determination, without a return of the Request. The inmate may pursue the matter by submitting an Administrative Remedy Request locally to the Warden. The Warden shall allow a reasonable extension of time for such a resubmission. (2) DHO Appeals. DHO appeals shall be submitted initially to the Regional Director for the region where the inmate is currently located. See the Program Statement Inmate Discipline Program. (3) Control Unit Appeals. Appeals related to Executive Panel Reviews of Control Unit placement shall be submitted directly to the General Counsel. See the Program Statement Control Unit Programs. (4) Controlled Housing Status Appeals. Appeals related to the Regional Director’s review of controlled housing status placement may be filed directly with the General Counsel. See the Program Statement Procedures for Handling HIV Positive Inmates Who Pose Danger to Other. > If filing locally would put you in danger (say the complaint is about staff and you fear retaliation), you can skip the prison and send it straight to the Regional Director, marked 'Sensitive.' If the region agrees it's sensitive, they take it. If they don't, they won't return it, they'll just tell you to file it at the prison instead. This is a real safety valve, but it's judged case by case. SECTION 9: APPEALS § 542.15 (EXCERPT) a. Submission. An inmate who is not satisfied with the Warden’s response may submit an Appeal on the appropriate form (BP-10) to the appropriate Regional Director within 20 calendar days of the date the Warden signed the response. An inmate who is not satisfied with the Regional Director’s response may submit an Appeal on the appropriate form (BP-11) to the General Counsel within 30 calendar days of the date the Regional Director signed the response. When the inmate demonstrates a valid reason for delay, these time limits may be extended. Valid reasons for delay include those situations described in §542.14(b) of this part. Appeal to the General Counsel is the final administrative appeal. These deadlines specify the date of the Appeal’s receipt in the regional office or the Central Office. The deadlines have been made deliberately long to allow sufficient mail time. Inmates should mail their Appeals promptly after receiving a response to ensure timely receipt. Ordinarily, the inmate must submit written verification from institution staff for any reason for delay that cannot be verified through SENTRY. In many cases, courts require a proper Appeal to the General Counsel before an inmate may pursue the complaint in court. > This is the reason the whole thing matters beyond the prison. Before you can take most issues to federal court, the law usually requires you to have run them all the way through this system first, this is called 'exhausting your remedies.' If you skip steps or miss deadlines here, you can lose your ability to sue over it later. That legal consequence is exactly why families should make sure someone inside doesn't let these clocks run out. Not legal advice, but if court is even a possibility, this paperwork is the foundation. > The appeal deadlines: 20 days to appeal the warden's answer up to the region (BP-10), then 30 days to appeal the region's answer up to the Central Office (BP-11). The Central Office is the top, that's as far as it goes inside the Bureau. Each level's clock starts on the date the response was signed, so watch those dates. b. Form (1) Appeals to the Regional Director shall be submitted on the form designed for regional Appeals (BP-10) and accompanied by one complete copy or duplicate original of the institution Request and response. Appeals to the General Counsel shall be submitted on the form designed for Central Office Appeals (BP-11) and accompanied by one complete copy or duplicate original of the institution and regional filings and their responses. Appeals shall state specifically the reason for appeal. (2) An inmate may not raise in an Appeal issues not raised in the lower level filings. An inmate may not combine Appeals of separate lower level responses (different case numbers) into a single Appeal. (3) An inmate shall complete the appropriate form with all requested identifying information and shall state the reasons for the Appeal in the space provided on the form. If more space is needed, the inmate may use up to one letter-size (8 1/2" x 11") continuation page. The inmate shall provide two additional copies of any continuation page and exhibits with the regional Appeal, and three additional copies with an Appeal to the Central Office (the inmate is also to provide copies of exhibits used at the prior level(s) of appeal). The inmate shall date and sign the Appeal and mail it to the appropriate Regional Director, if a Regional Appeal, or to the National Inmate Appeals Administrator, Office of General Counsel, if a Central Office Appeal (see 28 CFR part 503 for addresses of the Central Office and Regional Offices). > You can't spring a new argument at the appeal stage. Whatever you want considered up top has to have been raised at the bottom first. So put your full case in the BP-9, don't hold anything back thinking you'll add it on appeal. You can't. SECTION 10: ASSISTANCE §542.16 (EXCERPT) a. An inmate may obtain assistance from another inmate or from institution staff in preparing a Request or an Appeal. An inmate may also obtain assistance from outside sources, such as family members or attorneys. However, no person may submit a Request or Appeal on the inmate's behalf, and obtaining assistance will not be considered a valid reason for exceeding a time limit for submission unless the delay was caused by staff. > Someone can help you write it, another inmate, staff, your family, your lawyer, but you have to be the one who actually files it. Family can absolutely help draft and strategize from the outside; they just can't submit it for you. And getting help isn't an excuse for missing a deadline unless staff caused the delay. b. Wardens shall ensure that assistance is available for inmates who are illiterate, disabled, or who are not functionally literate in English. Such assistance includes provision of reasonable accommodation in order for an inmate with a disability to prepare and process a Request or an Appeal. For example, Wardens must ensure that staff (ordinarily unit staff) provide assistance in the preparation or submission of an Administrative Remedy or an Appeal upon being contacted by such inmates that they are experiencing a problem. > If someone can't read and write well, doesn't speak English well, or has a disability, the prison has to help them file. Nobody is supposed to lose access to this system because they can't fill out the form on their own. If a loved one is in that spot, they're entitled to help and you can push for it. SECTION 11: RESUBMISSION §542.17 (EXCERPT) a. Rejections. The Coordinator at any level (CCM, institution, region, Central Office) may reject and return to the inmate without response a Request or an Appeal that is written by an inmate in a manner that is obscene or abusive, or does not meet any other requirement of this part. > Keep it clean and keep it correct. A filing that's obscene, abusive, or that breaks the formatting rules gets rejected without an answer. Venting your anger into the form feels good and accomplishes nothing except a bounce. Write it flat and factual. b. Notice. When a submission is rejected, the inmate shall be provided a written notice, signed by the Administrative Remedy Coordinator, explaining the reason for rejection. If the defect on which the rejection is based is correctable, the notice shall inform the inmate of a reasonable time extension within which to correct the defect and resubmit the Request or Appeal. (1) Sensitive Submissions. Submissions for inmate claims which are too sensitive to be made known at the institution are not to be returned to the inmate. Only a rejection notice will be provided to the inmate. However, other rejected submissions ordinarily will be returned to the inmate with the rejection notice. (2) Defects. Defects such as failure to sign a submission, failure to submit the required copies of a Request, Appeal, or attachments, or failure to enclose the required single copy of lower level submissions are examples of correctable defects. Ordinarily, five calendar days from the date of the notice to the inmate is reasonable for resubmission at the institution level; at least 10 calendar days at the CCM or regional offices; and 15 calendar days at the Central Office. (3) Criteria for Rejection. When deciding whether to reject a submission, Coordinators, especially at the institution level, should be flexible, keeping in mind that major purposes of this Program are to solve problems and be responsive to issues inmates raise. Thus, for example, consideration should be given to accepting a Request or Appeal that raises a sensitive or problematic issue, such as medical treatment, sentence computation, or staff misconduct, even though that submission may be somewhat untimely. > A rejection isn't always the end. If the problem is fixable, forgot to sign it, didn't include enough copies, they tell you what's wrong and give you a short window to fix it and resend. So read the rejection notice carefully; it usually tells you exactly how to save the filing. SECTION 12: RESPONSE TIME §542.18 (EXCERPT) If accepted, a Request or Appeal is considered filed on the date it is logged into the Administrative Remedy Index as received. Once filed, response shall be made by the Warden or CCM within 20 calendar days; by the Regional Director within 30 calendar days; and by the General Counsel within 40 calendar days. If the Request is determined to be of an emergency nature which threatens the inmate’s immediate health or welfare, the Warden shall respond not later than the third calendar day after filing. If the time period for response to a Request or Appeal is insufficient to make an appropriate decision, the time for response may be extended once by 20 days at the institution level, 30 days at the regional level, or 20 days at the Central Office level. Staff shall inform the inmate of this extension in writing. Staff shall respond in writing to all filed Requests or Appeals. If the inmate does not receive a response within the time allotted for reply, including extension, the inmate may consider the absence of a response to be a denial at that level. The date a Request or an Appeal is received in the Administrative Remedy index is entered into SENTRY as the “Date Rcv”, and should be the date it is first received and date-stamped in the Administrative Remedy Clerk’s office. Notice of extension ordinarily is made via SENTRY notice. > They're on the clock too: 20 days for the warden to answer, 30 for the region, 40 for the Central Office (each can extend once). The important part: if they blow past the deadline and don't answer, silence counts as a denial. You don't wait forever, you treat no-answer as a 'no' and move to the next level. This keeps them from running out the clock on you. SECTION 16: ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDY PROCEDURES UNDER THE PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT (PREA) (EXCERPT) (f)(1) The agency shall establish procedures for the filing of an emergency grievance where an inmate is subject to a substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse. This section applies when an administrative remedy alleges a substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse. If a remedy meets both of these criteria, the remedy will receive expedited processing, as described below. Section 12 of this Program Statement provides for an “emergency” administrative remedy as required by section 115.52(f). An expedited BP-9 (BP-229) response shall be provided if a remedy is determined to be of an emergency nature which threatens the inmate's immediate health or welfare. See 28 C.F.R. § 542.18. The inmate shall clearly mark “Emergency” on the BP-9 (BP-229), and explain, in writing, the reason for filing as an emergency administrative remedy under this section. If an inmate files an emergency administrative remedy with the Warden, the local Administrative Remedy Coordinator shall make a determination as to whether the remedy alleges a substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse. If the local Administrative Remedy Coordinator agrees that the administrative remedy meets the criteria for an emergency administrative remedy, the request shall be accepted, and receive expedited processing as stated below. If the remedy is rejected for failing to meet the criteria of an emergency grievance under this section, a rejection notice will be provided to the inmate, and the remedy will be processed in accordance with the usual time frames indicated above. (2) After receiving an emergency grievance alleging an inmate is subject to a substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse, the agency shall immediately forward the grievance (or any portion thereof that alleges the substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse) to a level of review at which immediate corrective action may be taken, shall provide an initial response within 48 hours, and shall issue a final agency decision within five calendar days. The initial response and final agency decision shall document the agency’s determination whether the inmate is in substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse and the action taken in response to the emergency grievance. If an inmate files the emergency grievance with the institution under Section 12 of this Program Statement, above, alleging a substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse, an expedited BP-9 (BP-229) response shall be provided within 48 hours. Best efforts to provide BP-10 (BP-230) and BP-11 (BP-231) responses within five calendar days should also be made in accordance with the provisions on exhaustion referenced above. If the inmate does not receive a response within the time allotted for reply, the inmate may consider the absence of a response to be a denial at that level. Inmates may also file “sensitive” administrative remedies under Section 8 of this Program Statement, above, regarding allegations of sexual abuse. If an inmate reasonably believes the issue is sensitive and the inmate’s safety or well-being would be placed in danger if the remedy became known at the institution, the inmate may submit the remedy directly to the appropriate Regional Director. See 28 C.F.R. § 542.14 (d) (1). “Sensitive” grievances should be processed in accordance with Section 8 and Section 11 of this Program Statement, and the expedited response times specified in this section do not apply. > For a threat of imminent sexual abuse, there's an emergency track that moves fast, an initial response within 48 hours and a final decision within five days, and it can be filed without going through the staff member the complaint is about. Third parties, including family and attorneys, are allowed to help file these and even file on the inmate's behalf. If someone inside is in danger, this is the fastest formal channel, and it's separate from the normal grievance timeline. (g) The agency may discipline an inmate for filing a grievance related to alleged sexual abuse only where the agency demonstrates that the inmate filed the grievance in bad faith. The maintenance of an effective sexual abuse prevention policy, and general secure and orderly running of an institution, requires that inmates be held responsible for manipulative behavior and false allegations. Allegations of false reports will be considered by staff in accordance with the procedures and standards of the Inmate Discipline Program policy. > You generally can't be punished just for filing a sexual-abuse grievance. The only exception is if the Bureau can prove you filed it in bad faith (knowingly false). Fear of getting written up shouldn't stop a genuine complaint. Source: PS 1330.18 (1/6/2014), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/1330\_018.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/1330_018.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1480-06-multimedia-communications # Multimedia Communications PS 1480.06 (6/22/2026) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/1480_006.pdf) The media policy, freshly rewritten for the social-media era (it used to be called "News Media Contacts"). Most of the document is the Bureau's own PR machinery. The parts annotated here are the ones that matter to you: how a reporter gets an interview with someone inside, the path for a book project, and the rights an inmate keeps over their own face and voice. If a journalist ever comes calling about your loved one's case, read this first. SUMMARY OF CHANGES (EXCERPT) Program Statement Rescinded: 1480.05 News Media Contacts (9/21/2000) Changes: This reissued policy provides updated guidance on news media engagement with the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau), introduces new standards for multimedia production and dissemination, and incorporates expanded direction on the use of external websites and applications, including social media, to support effective communication with stakeholders and the broader public. > This 2026 policy replaces the old 'News Media Contacts' rules and modernizes them for the social-media era. For an inmate or family, most of it is the BOP's own PR operation, but the part that matters to you is unchanged in spirit: how a reporter can interview someone inside, and what rights the inmate has when they do. That's covered below. Updates the program statement title from “News Media Contacts” to “Multimedia Communications.” Removes references to the union’s role in representing bargaining unit staff. Removes a reference to Resolution 22, Department of Justice (DOJ) (8/3/1998). Provides additional clarity for how members of the news media must request an institutional visit or personal interview. Removes references to BOPDOCS. Provides clarity regarding the permission of news media to use film or photography during institutional visits. Provides clarity regarding inmates not being employed or acting as reporters. Defines a personal interview. Provides clarity regarding who has the final authority to grant or deny interview requests. Provides clarity on existing policy-based reasons to deny an interview request. Clarifies responsibilities regarding denial of interview requests. Provides clarity regarding auditory supervision of personal interviews. Provides clarity regarding access to institutional property by members of the news media. § 540.62 INSTITUTIONAL VISITS (EXCERPT) (b) When media representatives visit the institutions, photographs of programs and activities may be taken, and media representatives may meet with groups of inmates engaged in authorized programs and activities. An inmate has the right not to be photographed and not to have his or her voice recorded by the media. A visiting representative of the media is required to obtain written permission from an inmate before photographing or recording the voice of an inmate participating in authorized programs and activities. > You control your own image and voice. The media cannot photograph you or record your voice without your written permission, even if they're on the compound filming a program. If someone inside does not want to be shown, that's their call and it has to be respected. Nobody can put your face or voice on the news over your objection. Permission to film or take photographs will be at the discretion of the Warden. Use of the inmate's name, identifiable photographs, or voice recording is not recommended. The BP-A0233, News Interview Authorization form must be used by the media when making a request for interviews, photographs, voice recordings, and appointments for institution visits with inmates. The original copy of the BP-A0233, News Interview Authorization form is to be placed in the inmate’s central file, and a copy is to be sent to the media representative making the request. (c) The Warden may suspend all media visits during an institutional emergency and for a reasonable time after the emergency. Specifically, the Warden may suspend media visits if the continued presence would endanger the health or safety of the visitor(s), or if the visitor(s)’ continued presence would disturb the good order of the institution and/or likely cause serious unrest. (d) An inmate currently confined in an institution may not be employed or act as a reporter. > You can talk to the press, but you can't be a journalist while incarcerated and you can't get paid for it, not for interviews, not for correspondence. This applies even in a halfway house. So telling your story is allowed; getting a paycheck or a byline for it is not. Keep that line clear if a reporter or outlet offers anything of value. This includes all inmates who are in the custody and care of the Bureau, including inmates in community confinement. Inmates may not receive compensation for their correspondence with representatives of the news media. (e) Interviews by reporters and others not included in § 540.2 may be permitted only by special arrangement and with approval of the Warden. > There's a real path for a book. If a writer wants to interview someone inside for a book, the warden can approve it, but the writer has to prove they're legitimate, either a track record of published books or a letter from a real publisher showing a contract. So a book project about someone's case is possible; it just requires a credentialed writer and warden approval, not a casual arrangement. The Warden may approve institutional visits and interviews requested by writers for the purpose of writing a book. Such approval is contingent upon the writer: Submitting verification of their previously published book(s); or Submitting a letter from a recognized publishing company that indicates the publisher’s contractual support of the book. § 540.63 PERSONAL INTERVIEWS (EXCERPT) Interview requests must be submitted to the designated PIO at the correctional institution or RRM office where the inmate is assigned. (d) Staff shall notify an inmate of each interview request, and shall, as a prerequisite, obtain from the inmate written consent for the interview prior to the interview taking place. The written consent or denial becomes part of the inmate's central file. > Nothing happens without your sign-off. If a reporter requests an interview with you, staff have to tell you and get your written consent first, on a specific form. Your yes or no goes in your file. So you'll always know when the press is asking for you, and you decide. It's opt-in, never automatic. The inmate who agrees to an interview must complete the BP-A0233, News Interview Authorization form. (e) As a prerequisite to granting the interview, an inmate must authorize the institutional staff to respond to comments made in the interview and to release information to the news media relative to the inmate's comments. > One tradeoff to understand before you agree: to do the interview, you have to let the prison respond publicly to what you say and release information related to your comments. In other words, once you go on record, the BOP gets to give its side and share related info about you. Worth thinking through, because you're partly waiving privacy over the subject you discuss. (f) The Warden shall normally approve or disapprove an interview request within 24 to 48 hours of the request. > The warden (or halfway-house manager) is the sole decider on interview requests and usually rules within a day or two. Their decision is final, there's no appeal to a higher media office. So whether a reporter gets in comes down to one person at your facility. The decision-making authority for granting or denying official interview requests or visits in Bureau institutions or Residential Reentry Centers (RRC) resides solely with an institution's Warden or the Residential Reentry Manager. The Warden or Residential Reentry Manager of a facility has the authority to approve, deny, or approve an interview with modifications to the original request. They are responsible for assessing issues related to each request on a case-by-case basis and their decision is final. (g) The Warden shall document any disapproval. A request for interview may be denied for any of the following reasons. (1) The news media representative, or the news organization which he or she represents, does not agree to the conditions established by this subpart or has, in the past, failed to abide by the required conditions. (2) The inmate is physically or mentally unable to participate. This must be supported by a medical officer's statement (a psychologist may be used to verify mental incapacity) to be placed in the inmate's record, substantiating the reason for disapproval. (3) The inmate is a juvenile (under age 18) and written consent has not been obtained from the inmate's parent or guardian. If the juvenile inmate's parents or guardians are not known or their addresses are not known, the Warden of the institution shall notify the representative of the news media of the inmate's status as a juvenile, and shall then consider the request. (4) The interview, in the opinion of the Warden, would endanger the health or safety of the interviewer, or would probably cause serious unrest or disturb the good order of the institution. > The warden can deny an interview for specific documented reasons: the inmate isn't medically able, the outlet has broken the rules before, it's a minor without parental consent, or the warden judges it a safety or security risk. The denial has to be written down with a reason. So denials aren't supposed to be arbitrary, though 'good order of the institution' is a broad category that gives the warden a lot of room. (5) The inmate is involved in a pending court action and the court having jurisdiction has issued an order forbidding such interviews. (6) In the case of unconvicted persons (including competency commitments under 18 U.S.C. 4244 and 4246) held in federal institutions, interviews are not authorized until there is clearance with the court having jurisdiction, ordinarily through the U.S. Attorney's Office. In some districts there may be a standing authorization for interviews, in the absence of individual “gag orders,” but in other districts all pretrial inmates may need to be cleared upon request for interviews as the court having jurisdiction may have issued an order limiting or forbidding interviews. The appropriate U.S. Attorney’s Office must be contacted to determine whether such an order is in force or if there are any objections to this inmate participating in a media interview. (7) The inmate is a “protection” case and revelation of his or her whereabouts would endanger the inmate's safety. (8) In the opinion of the Warden, the interview may portray the agency or institution as endorsing or glorifying an inmate’s view or crime (e.g., providing notoriety, revictimization of victims). (h) Interviews are normally held in the institution visiting room during normal weekday business hours. The Warden may: (1) Determine that another location is more suitable for conducting the interview; (2) Limit interview time for the entire institution if the Warden determines that the interviews are imposing a serious drain on staff or use of the facilities; (3) Limit to one one-hour interview per month for an inmate in segregation, restricted, holdover, control unit, or hospital status if required by special security, custodial, or supervisory needs; and > Even someone in segregation (the SHU) or on restricted status isn't fully cut off from the press, they can be limited to roughly one one-hour interview a month. General population has more latitude. The point being: media access shrinks with your status but doesn't vanish entirely. (4) Limit the amount of audio, video, and film equipment or number of media personnel entering the institution if the Warden determines that the requested equipment or personnel would create a disruption within the institution. The Warden may also approve an interview but deny the use of audio, video, and recording devices/equipment. Source: PS 1480.06 (6/22/2026), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/1480\_006.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/1480_006.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/2011-12-accounting-for-the-cost-of-incarceration-fee # Accounting for the Cost of Incarceration Fee PS 2011.12 (12/21/2012) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/2011.12.pdf) The fee almost nobody warns you about: the government can charge for the cost of incarceration itself, on top of restitution and everything else. This is the accounting policy behind it, how the fee gets calculated, how it gets paid (including by family), and what happens to an unpaid balance after release. It's a short document with real consequences for the family budget, and it runs through the same trust fund (your prison bank account) machinery as commissary (the prison store) money. SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) This Program Statement establishes procedures for processing and accounting for the Cost of Incarceration Fee (COIF) imposed on Federal inmates. Public Law 102-395, Section 111, and 18 U.S.C. 4001, require the Attorney General to establish and collect a fee to cover costs associated with the confinement of any person convicted and committed to the Attorney General’s custody. This assessment is equivalent to the average cost of incarcerating a committed person for one year. Fees assessed and collected are used in accordance with the Program Statement Cost of Incarceration Fee. > There's a fee for being incarcerated. It's called the Cost of Incarceration Fee, and it's set to roughly the average yearly cost of holding someone in federal prison. This document is the accounting side of it, but the thing you need to know as an inmate is simpler: this fee can exist on top of your restitution and other financial obligations. Most people focus on restitution and never see this coming. a. Summary of Changes Policy Rescinded P2011.11 Accounting for the Cost of Incarceration Fee (09/13/11) This revision eliminates the requirement to scan IFRP contracts into the Trust Fund Accounting and Commissary System (TRUFACS). Instead, the contracts are automatically forwarded through SENTRY. b. Program Objectives. The expected results of this program are: Cost of Incarceration Fees will be accurately monitored, collected, and accounted for in accordance with applicable regulations. SECTION 2: FEE CALCULATIONS (EXCERPT) Unit Management staff calculate the COIF in accordance with provisions in the Program Statement Cost of Incarceration Fee. > Your unit team calculates the fee. If you're in for less than a year, it gets prorated down so you're not charged a full year's worth. The actual dollar rules live in a separate policy (the Cost of Incarceration Fee statement), not this one. Office of Financial Management (OFM) staff prorate fees for inmates incarcerated for less than a year upon request from Unit Management staff. Prorated fees are handled per the Program Statement Cost of Incarceration Fee. SECTION 3: SENTRY PROCESSING (EXCERPT) The COIF is processed via the SENTRY Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP) Module. Unit Management staff enter the COIF obligation into SENTRY as explained in the Technical Reference Manual (TRM) SENTRY Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. > The fee runs through the same system as your other court-ordered payments, the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. If you're on an IFRP payment plan, this is part of that machinery. Staying current on IFRP matters, because falling behind can cost you privileges, so it's worth understanding what's being tracked. SECTION 4: ESTABLISHING AN ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE (EXCERPT) Upon receiving the SENTRY-generated COIF contract, OFM staff establish an accounts receivable in the automated accounting system. The accounts receivable is established as a reimbursement to the current year Salaries and Expenses (S&E) Appropriation. The debt is classified as a non-interest-accruing receivable and entered into the automated accounting system for the full amount of the COIF. If Unit Management advises OFM that the debt should be interest-bearing, OFM establishes the debt as an interest-bearing receivable. > By default the fee doesn't gather interest. It can be switched to interest-bearing in some cases, but ordinarily what you owe is a flat amount that doesn't grow while you sit. The COIF accounts receivable file must contain the bills establishing the receivables and attached copies of the signed inmate contracts. SECTION 5: PAYMENT TYPES AND METHODS (EXCERPT) The COIF may be paid as a lump sum for the entire amount or by installments, and may be paid either by the inmate or an outside source. The type of payment plan agreed upon by the inmate is annotated on the front of the SENTRY-generated contract. See the Program Statement Cost of Incarceration Fee for additional information on lump sum and installment payments. > You can pay the fee all at once or in installments, and family or an outside source can pay it for you. Whatever plan you agree to gets written on your contract. So if a relative wants to knock this out on your behalf, that's allowed. a. Payments From Outside Sources By Check or Money Order. The payment must be payable to the Federal Bureau of Prisons and reference the inmate’s name, register number, and that it is being made as a COIF. > If someone on the outside pays this for you by check or money order, it goes to the Bureau of Prisons (not into your commissary account) and has to say it's for the COIF, with your name and register number on it. This is a different pipe than putting money on your books. Don't confuse the two: commissary money and fee payments go to different places, and mixing them up causes delays. OFM staff annotate the BP-114 (Cash Receipt) with the name and register number of the inmate for whom the payment was made and the account receivable bill number. A copy is sent to Unit Management staff to adjust the inmate’s SENTRY obligation balance. OFM staff send, via institution mail, the white copy of the receipt to the inmate. The collection is deposited into the S&E Appropriation and reported on the institution’s Statement of Transactions (SF-224). The receipt of payment is recorded in the automated accounting system and posted to accounts receivable in the automated accounting system. The check or money order must not be deposited into the inmate’s TRUFACS account. b. COIF Payments Through TRUFACS. If the COIF payment is made by the inmate, funds are withdrawn from his/her account and collected into the S&E Appropriation. > If you pay it yourself, the money comes out of your inmate account. So money on your books can get pulled toward this fee. Worth knowing when you're budgeting what's actually available for commissary and phone. The withdrawal of the inmate’s funds is processed in TRUFACS. The TRUFACS extract automatically records the withdrawal from the inmate’s account and posts the withdrawal to the SF-224. The collection into the S&E Appropriation is recorded in the automated accounting system, posted to the accounts receivable reducing the amount due, and reported on the institution’s SF-224. These entries must be supported by a Journal Voucher. The payment is also recorded in the SENTRY IFRP module per procedures in the TRM. SECTION 6: RETURNED CHECKS (EXCERPT) When an outside check for the COIF is returned by the United States Treasury (Treasury) for insufficient funds, OFM staff send the inmate, via Unit Management staff, a copy of the debit voucher received from Treasury. The debit voucher is entered into the automated accounting system and the debt re-established as an accounts receivable. Unit Management staff use the debit voucher to adjust the SENTRY obligation for the returned check amount. > If an outside check bounces, the debt gets put right back on your balance. A bounced payment doesn't make the obligation disappear, it just resets to unpaid. SECTION 7: TRANSFERRED INMATES (EXCERPT) Upon an inmate’s transfer to another institution, OFM staff ensure that the balance remaining on the accounts receivable is equal to the obligation balance in SENTRY. OFM liquidates the balance of the accounts receivable in the accounting system only after receiving written verification (e.g., fax, e-mail, letter) from the gaining institution that the receivable is established at the new location. The written verification is retained as the reason for the liquidation of the debt. The accounts receivable file must be clearly annotated with the reason for the liquidation. If the inmate is temporarily transferred, for medical reasons or writ, and is sent back to that institution, the remaining balance must not be liquidated. > The fee balance follows you when you transfer. Moving to a new facility doesn't wipe it, the new place picks up wherever you left off. The SENTRY obligation balance transfers in SENTRY with the inmate. Unit Management staff at the receiving institution retrieve outstanding obligation data from SENTRY and generate a new contract. The contract is provided to OFM staff to establish an account receivable for the remaining balance. SECTION 8: RESIDENTIAL REENTRY MANAGER (RRM) RESPONSIBILITIES (EXCERPT) Inmates transferred to contract facilities are required to continue to pay their COIFs. The institution holding the debt immediately forwards the account receivable information to Regional Correctional Programs staff no later than two weeks before the transfer. Regional staff then notify the Regional Comptroller and RRM of the remaining COIF balance. > Going to a halfway house or contract facility doesn't end the obligation either. You keep paying it there. The payment just gets routed to the regional office instead of the prison. The institution holding the debt liquidates the receivable only after receiving written verification from the Regional Comptroller’s office that the receivable has been established at the Region. The RRMs ensure payments for inmates in their facilities are submitted to the Regional Comptroller for deposit. SECTION 10: RELEASED INMATES (EXCERPT) On request, OFM staff provide Unit Management with the balance of unpaid COIFs for inmates pending release. If an inmate is being released with an unpaid COIF balance, Unit Management staff prepare a Claims Collection Litigation Report (CCLR) and submit it to OFM staff with the Release & Gratuity Information form (BP-A0189) before the inmate’s release date. If the inmate is released directly to the community, OFM staff fill in the bill number and forwards the CCLR to the Accounting Operations Section, Central Office, which reviews the CCLR and forwards it to: U.S. Department of Justice Nationwide Central Intake Facility (NCIF) 1110 Bonifant Street, Suite 220 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 If the inmate is released to a contract facility, OFM staff forward the CCLR to the Regional Comptroller, who follows procedures in this Program Statement. If the inmate is released from a contract facility with a COIF balance, the RRM informs the Regional Comptroller, who completes the bill number and current amount on the CCLR and forwards it to the Accounting Operations Section, Central Office, which reviews the CCLR and forwards it to the address above. The NCIF reviews and forwards the referral package to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for litigation and enforcement. Balances for COIFs must remain in accounts receivable until litigation is completed or the balances are authorized to be written off. > The big one: if you leave prison still owing this fee, the debt doesn't vanish. It gets packaged up and referred to the U.S. Attorney's Office, meaning the government can pursue it after you're out, the same as any other federal debt. This is the part families should understand before release, because an unpaid balance can follow someone into their new life and become a collection matter. Note this is a debt-collection reality, not legal advice; if it's a live issue, that's a conversation for a lawyer. Source: PS 2011.12 (12/21/2012), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/2011.12.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/2011.12.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4500-13-trust-fund-deposit-fund-manual # Trust Fund / Deposit Fund Manual PS 4500.13 (5/7/2026) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/4500_013.pdf) Money: how it gets in, spending limits, commissary (the prison store), and the phone account. The current TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored) chapter lives in here too. This 2026 revision is the one with the $460 monthly cap. The passages below cover the stuff families actually get wrong: the LockBox address, the committed-name rule, why personal checks bounce, and why the letter you tucked in with the money order gets thrown away. SUMMARY OF CHANGES (EXCERPT) Chapter 3 ■ Removes the term “MP3 Player”; changed to “Secured Media Device”. ■ Revises the Warden’s note on postage stamp envelope and removes the Union Representative as an authorized person to open the envelope. ■ Increases spending limit from $360 to $460 per month. ■ Revises the mark-up for standard items/SPOs purchased; Selling price is cost plus a 30% mark-up (base), adjusted annually by the national Consumer Price Index (CPI). ■ Added verbiage for a standardized female specific commissary list ■ Updates items approved to sale at the institution to include mattresses and nicotine pouches for other than the Smoking Cessation Program. ■ Revises the spending limitation exclusion list including nicotine lozenges, sneakers, mattresses, and secured media devices. ■ Increases maximum selling price for athletic specialty shoes, work shoes, and watches sold in the Commissary from $100 to $150. ■ Replace suntan lotion with sunscreen from the miscellaneous products list. ■ Increases maximum dollar amount for Special Purpose Orders (SPO) from $300 to $600 including markup and shipping per quarter. Added, exceptions to one SPO per month must be approved by Warden. > The 2026 numbers you'll actually use: an inmate can spend up to $460 a month at commissary (up from $360), and Special Purpose Orders, the way you buy bigger approved items like religious articles or educational materials, now cap at $600 per quarter. These figures change every few years, so if you see an older number floating around online, this is the current one. 3.2 SPENDING LIMITATION (EXCERPT) Inmates are given the opportunity to purchase goods from Commissary. To lessen the disparity between affluent inmates and inmates with few resources, the Bureau implements a spending limitation of $460 per month. > That $460 monthly cap is deliberate, it's meant to keep wealthy inmates from dominating the commissary. During the November/December holidays it bumps up by $50 for one shopping period. So budget around $460 most months, a bit more at the holidays. Family loading money onto the books beyond that won't let someone spend faster; the cap is the cap. The spending limitation is the maximum amount an inmate is allowed to spend per month on sales items not excluded from the monthly spending limitation, described in paragraph b. below. The spending limitation will be increased by $50 during the November/December holiday period. The increased spending limitation for each inmate is in effect for no more than one validation period. a. Limitations. To enable institution management to control or restrict gambling and other illicit activities involving payoffs, local controls, including quantity limitations, may be set to restrict trafficking of Commissary items. b. Exclusions from the Spending Limitation. The only items excluded from the spending limitation are: ■ Postage stamps. ■ Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) patches or lozenges. ■ Over-the-counter medications, medical products, and vitamins/mineral supplements as defined in Section 3.3.f(15). ■ Kosher/Halal shelf-stable entrees for inmates who are IFRP Refusal status. ■ Copy cards and copy paper. ■ Footwear to include sneakers and safety shoes ■ Mattresses ■ Secured media device > A handful of things don't count against the $460 cap: stamps, nicotine patches/lozenges, over-the-counter meds and vitamins, copy cards and paper, shoes, mattresses, and the media device (the MP3-type player). So buying a big-ticket item like shoes or a media player doesn't eat your whole month's food budget. Everything else, food, hygiene, does count. c. Revalidation of Spending Limitation. The spending limitation is automatically revalidated once per month for each inmate except where weekly or bi-weekly validation is used. 3.3 ITEMS TO BE SOLD IN THE COMMISSARY (EXCERPT) a. Item Determination. Within the following guidelines, the Warden and designated staff decide, based on the security, programs, climate, character, and composition of the inmate population, as well as Trust Fund infrastructure limitations, what items to sell in the Commissary. Consumable items and medical items sold must complement, not supplement, diet and medical care provided to the inmate population. Institutions are encouraged to offer Commissary goods acceptable for inmates with religious dietary restrictions. To expand the availability of foods for Islamic and Jewish adherents, when costs are comparable and products meet the needs of the institution, products should be selected from a variety of name-brand foods which have a reliable kosher/halal certification or are free of pork and pork by-products. Kosher or halal certification will be annotated on the shopping list. In addition, during the week of Passover each year (early spring), inmate requests for certified kosher-for-Passover food items will be accommodated using normal Trust Fund procedures. Information about the products and certifications is available from the institution Chaplain or the Chaplaincy Services Branch, Central Office. > Commissary is supposed to stock kosher and halal options, and kosher-for-Passover items are accommodated during Passover week. If religious diet matters to someone inside, the chaplain is the point of contact, and the shopping list flags certified items. Worth knowing this exists rather than assuming there's nothing. Additional religious holidays and approved dietary requirements are available on the Chaplaincy Services intranet page. 6.4 TRUFONE RATES (EXCERPT) a. Direct Dial Rates. Direct dial TRUFONE rates are set to encourage financial responsibility and family ties, and to ensure the Trust Fund program remains financially solvent. The Chief, Trust Fund Branch, with the Assistant Director for Administration’s concurrence, sets telephone rates. The Assistant Director for Administration approves any significant modifications to direct dial rates (other than those required by routine cost variances). ■ Rates for domestic and international calls are set at a standard per minute flat rate for each type of service. Rates are standard throughout the Bureau regardless of location. ■ Wardens ensure information concerning direct dial rates is kept on file in the institution (e.g., Law Library, inmate library, units). > Phone calls are charged at a flat per-minute rate that's the same at every federal facility, paid from the inmate's account. Family can also set up prepaid collect so they can receive calls. The rate is standardized nationwide, so nobody's getting a special deal or a special gouging based on the prison. Phone minutes come out of the same account money as commissary, so it's all one budget. b. Collect Call Rates. Collect rates are charged in accordance with TRUFONE contract requirements. The called party may be given collect rates before accepting a collect call. The billed party may obtain collect rates by contacting the service provider. c. Prepaid Collect Call Rates. Prepaid collect calls are available to provide the called party the opportunity to receive collect calls when normal collect calls are not available. Prepaid service is extended to all recipients to reduce the cost of receiving collect calls. Prepaid collect rates are charged in accordance with TRUFONE contract requirements. 8.7 MANAGEMENT OF DECEASED INMATES’ FUNDS (EXCERPT) If an inmate dies with funds remaining in their Inmate Deposit account, that money should be distributed in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution in the relevant state. If the inmate dies with monies due from the United States, payment is not authorized except to a legal representative of the estate or in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution of the state of domicile (most recent legal residence). > A hard subject, but families ask: if someone dies in custody with money on their books, that money doesn't vanish, it goes to the estate or next of kin under the inheritance laws of their home state. Small balances under $100 can be released faster with approval. Larger amounts go through the estate process, so you may need documentation like a death certificate and proof you're the legal representative. This is a sensitive topic; if you're facing it, a probate attorney in the deceased's home state can walk you through claiming it. a. Claims for Funds of Deceased Inmates. Claims received against funds of deceased inmates are handled at the institution level. Institutions should submit claims to the Trust Fund Branch Deposit Fund Section for settlement only when doubt exists as to: ■ The amount or validity of the claim. ■ The person(s) properly entitled to payment under the laws of the domicile of the descendent. In such cases, the institution transmittal must explain that doubt exists, and is accompanied by a Claim Against the United States for Amounts Due in the SF-1055, Case of A Deceased Creditor and/or the BP-A0408, Acknowledgment of Inmate, Part 3 & 4 and a copy of the death certificate. If there is urgent need for payment of a balance under $100 in a deceased inmate’s account, and if conditions as outlined in the paragraph above are satisfied, the amount may be disbursed from TRUFACS with the Chief, Trust Fund Branch written approval. Copies of the BP-A0408 are attached to such vouchers in lieu of the usual withdrawal request. Documentation is attached to the payment in TRUFACS through the document imaging process. 9.1 AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT FUNDS (EXCERPT) c. Acknowledgment of Inmate. The BP-A0407, Acknowledgment of Inmate, Part 1 & 2 contains a power of attorney assignment that gives the Bureau authority to endorse negotiable instruments for deposit to the Inmate Deposit Fund account. If an inmate refuses to sign the BP-A0407, staff flag the inmate’s account as no power of attorney and scan the unsigned form. Funds received through the LockBox for an inmate with no power of attorney authorized are not deposited but returned to sender if an address is available. If an address is not available, the original instrument is returned to the financial institution which issued it. Only cash upon commitment may be deposited for inmates flagged no power of attorney. > A catch worth knowing: at intake, inmates sign a form (the power-of-attorney authorization) that lets the Bureau handle deposits into their account. If someone refuses to sign it, they can't receive mailed deposits OR Western Union/MoneyGram, only cash brought in at commitment. If money you send keeps bouncing back, this unsigned form could be why. It's fixable, but the inmate has to sign. Inmates with no power of attorney authorized are not allowed to receive Western Union or MoneyGram funds. d. Endorsement. The Accounting Technician/cashier and the LockBox agent are authorized to endorse negotiable instruments only for the purpose of depositing negotiable instruments in the U.S. Treasury for the personal credit of the inmates. Refer to Section 9.4.b for joint-payee procedures. e. New Commitments. New commitments are instructed, during the institution’s Admission and Orientation (A&O) Program, to notify their family and friends of the following procedures: (1) LockBox Procedures ■ Acceptable negotiable instruments (see Section 9.2.a) are sent to the LockBox processing center identified in Section 9.5. ■ The inmate’s committed name and eight digit register number are identified as part of the address on the outside of the envelope and on all negotiable instruments. ■ Personal checks, cash, and any negotiable instrument not payable in U.S. dollars cannot be accepted. ■ Any enclosures received with the negotiable instruments (letters, pictures, etc.) will be discarded. > Two hard rules on mailed deposits. First, no personal checks and no cash, they'll be rejected. Use a money order or cashier's check. Second, don't tuck a letter or photo in with the money order; the deposit envelope goes to a processing center, not to the inmate, and anything extra gets thrown away. Letters and photos go through regular mail to the prison, money goes to the LockBox. Keep them separate. (2) Western Union/MoneyGram. Inmates are given Western Union, Quick Collect, and MoneyGram Express Payment Program procedures to forward to family and friends upon arrival at the designated institution or during A&O. > The fast way to send money is Western Union or MoneyGram, which post to the account much quicker than mailing a money order. The inmate gets the specific procedure codes during intake (A&O) and passes them to family. Despite what paid consultants imply, this is genuinely simple once you have the facility's code and the register number. Nobody needs to charge you to explain it. 9.2 ACCEPTABLE/UNACCEPTABLE NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS (EXCERPT) a. Acceptable Negotiable Instruments. ■ Money orders. ■ U.S. government checks (federal, state, county, municipal). ■ Foreign negotiable instruments payable in U.S. dollars only with a U.S. correspondent bank and routing number on the instrument. ■ Business checks. ■ Cashier’s checks/certified checks/bank drafts > What works for a mailed deposit: money orders, cashier's checks, certified checks, government checks, business checks. What doesn't: personal checks, cash, anything missing the inmate's exact name and register number, or anything expired or altered. Simplest reliable option is a money order with the name and register number printed right on it. The inmate’s committed name and register number must be printed legibly on all negotiable instruments and on the outside of the envelope containing the negotiable instrument. b. Unacceptable Negotiable Instruments. The following items will not be accepted and will be returned to sender or the issuing agency, or deposited into the U.S. Treasury Miscellaneous Receipts Account: ■ Negotiable instruments not containing both a valid committed name and eight digit register number. ■ Negotiable instruments with expired dates. ■ Negotiable instruments that appear suspicious in nature or appear to have been altered. ■ Personal checks. ■ Foreign funds and other negotiable instruments not payable in U.S. dollars and/or lacking a U.S. correspondent bank and routing number on the instrument. ■ Cash received through the mail. ■ Mailings not containing sender information. ■ Mailings to the LockBox not containing valid inmate committed names and eight digit register numbers on the envelope. ■ Counter checks. 9.5 RECEIPT OF FUNDS – LOCKBOX (EXCERPT) The Bureau has an Interagency Agreement with the U.S. Treasury to operate a LockBox Program. a. Receipt of Inmate Funds. Funds for deposit to inmate accounts (Inmate Deposit Fund) are sent to the LockBox. The address can be found on the Trust Fund Branch intranet page. > This is how you put money on someone's books by mail. It goes to a central Treasury 'LockBox,' not to the prison, and both the envelope AND the money order have to show the inmate's committed name (their real legal name, no nicknames) and eight-digit register number. Get the name or number wrong and it bounces. This is the number one thing families mess up, so double-check both before you send. Note: The only exceptions to this procedure are in Sections 9.6 and 9.7. The inmate’s committed name (no nicknames) and register number must be printed on all Bureau-approved negotiable instruments (a list of these is in Section 9.2.a.), and on the outside of the envelope. Negotiable instruments or mailing envelopes that do not have the inmate’s committed name and eight digit register number are returned to the sender if an address is available. If an address is not available, funds are deposited into the U.S. Treasury Miscellaneous Receipts Account. b. LockBox Procedures. Inmates’ family and friends send negotiable instruments to the LockBox. The LockBox receives mail seven days a week, excluding federal holidays, and processes negotiable instruments the same day they are received. > Once your money order reaches the LockBox, it posts overnight and is available to the inmate the next day. The lag families feel is almost entirely the mail time to get there, not the processing. If you want money available faster, that's what Western Union/MoneyGram are for (below). Negotiable instruments are verified to ensure they have proper inmate names, register numbers, and are Bureau-approved. The Bureau receives electronic funds and scanned images of negotiable instruments/envelopes to facilitate staff monitoring of inmate funds. TRUFACS distributes funds to each inmate’s account after the nightly process. Funds are available to the inmate the following day. Source: PS 4500.13 (5/7/2026), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/4500\_013.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/4500_013.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/4700-08-food-service-manual # Food Service Manual PS 4700.08 (5/7/2026) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/4700_008.pdf) What mealtime actually is: a national menu, three meals a day, two of them hot, posted a week ahead. Where this document earns its keep is the diets, the certified kosher and halal program, Ramadan and Passover accommodations, and how medical diets really work (mostly self-selection off a labeled menu). If a loved one keeps a religious or medical diet, the mechanics below are the ones to know, and the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news) or Health Services, not the kitchen, is the door to knock on. **A local supplement almost certainly applies** Wardens issue institution supplements to fill in whatever national policy leaves up to the facility, and this is one of the policies they supplement most often. What's below is the national floor. The supplement is the version staff actually work from day to day: the hours, the limits, the forms, the local exceptions. It can't contradict the policy below, but it can be far more specific than anything on this page, and it's usually where the rule you can't find here lives. No supplements are posted on this site yet. They're written facility by facility and the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) doesn't publish them in one place, so they go up as I get current copies. Until then, the person inside can ask their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) for the institution supplement to PS 4700.08, usually numbered with the facility's code in front of it and kept in the law library. [The facility's Facebook group](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) is the other place people find out what the local version says. PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) This program statement establishes standardized policy and national direction for the management and operation of the Food Service program throughout the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau). It ensures consistent, safe, secure, and efficient delivery of nutritionally adequate meals by establishing direction for food procurement, menu planning, preparation, service, sanitation, and oversight. a. Program Objectives. Inmates will be provided with nutritionally adequate meals, prepared and served in a manner that meets established government health and safety codes. Essential resources will be planned, developed, and managed to meet the operational needs of the Food Service program. Inmates assigned to work in the Food Service Department will be given opportunities to acquire skills and abilities that may assist in obtaining employment after release. Inmates will be provided with nutritional information that enables them to determine and establish healthy eating habits that may enhance their quality of life. > The baseline promise: meals are supposed to be nutritionally adequate and safely prepared, and inmates get nutrition info so they can make sensible choices. Prison food is a common worry for families. It's institutional and repetitive, but there's a national menu with nutritional standards behind it, not just whatever's on hand. b. Institution Supplement. None. CHAPTER 2 – NATIONAL MENU PLANNING, 8. MEAL PLANNING (EXCERPT) When planning meals, the following considerations are made: Meals contain a variety of nutrient-dense foods among the basic food groups. Money, manpower, and materials required to produce the menu. Food flavor, texture, temperature, and appearance. Eating preferences of the population. Three meals are served each day, two of which are hot. A sandwich meal may be offered on the same day as a continental breakfast if a hearty hot soup is offered with the sandwich meal. No more than 14 hours may elapse between the evening and breakfast meals. Variations are allowed based on weekend and holiday Food Service demands, provided basic nutritional needs are met. Pork is not served as the only entree on holiday meals. > Three meals a day, at least two of them hot, and no more than 14 hours between dinner and breakfast. So the long overnight gap people imagine is capped. Small but telling detail: pork is never the only holiday entree, so there's always an alternative for those who don't eat it. Dry milk will not be procured for routine mainline beverage service and will be maintained only for authorized contingency use. CHAPTER 2 – NATIONAL MENU PLANNING, 9. MENU REQUIREMENTS (EXCERPT) The planned menu will be available for review at least one week in advance, accessible to staff, and posted so inmates can examine it before reaching the serving counter. Food items, including heart healthy items, no-flesh alternatives, and items prepared or seasoned with pork, will be identified on the National Menu. > The menu is posted a week ahead, and it labels what's what: heart-healthy options, no-flesh (vegetarian) options, and anything cooked with pork. So you can see what's coming and plan around dietary needs or restrictions. Nobody has to guess whether a dish has pork in it; it's marked. CHAPTER 4 – RELIGIOUS DIET PROGRAM, 1. CERTIFIED FOOD (EXCERPT) d. Certified Food Procedures. There are two components within the Certified Food Program: certified kosher and certified halal. Prepared foods purchased for use on the Certified Food Menu will be certified by a nationally accepted Orthodox Kashrut supervision service or World Halal Food Council (WHFC) member. Only items indicated by an “H” on the posted menu require this standard for halal items. Access the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site for Religious Certification reference material. In addition to the Kashrut certification, bread, margarine, potato chips, vegetable juice, salad dressing, ketchup, and mustard used for the Certified Food Menu must be Certified Parve meaning they are certified to contain neither meat nor dairy products. Prepared foods, except bread and beverages as detailed immediately below, will be procured and served in sealed individual serving packages marked with the appropriate Religious Certification. See religious diet specifications for a list of required items on the Food Service Branch page of the Bureau’s intranet site. Any item to be heated is double-wrapped and sealed in a package that may be heated in a conventional or microwave oven. > For religious diets, the BOP runs a 'Certified Food' program with real certified kosher and halal meals, served in sealed, certified packaging to protect their religious integrity. This is the formal religious-diet track. You sign up through Religious Services (the chaplain), not food service. If keeping kosher or halal matters to someone inside, this is how it's actually provided, and it's a genuine program, not a token gesture. Nothing cut, processed, prepared, or served from a container is offered except: Loaf bread, which may be served directly from a package that contains the Kosher Parve certification or removed from that same package and packaged by servers in a disposable single-use sealable plastic bag immediately before service. Beverages from dedicated sealed dispensing equipment, individually packaged beverage, or instant beverage powder is provided to be reconstituted by the inmate. When ordered by the Warden, due to packaging that may be a security concern, food may be removed from an individual container and placed in a covered or wrapped disposable container to serve. Any time food is removed from the original manufacturer’s packaging as authorized above, care should be given to ensure the religious integrity of the product. Only disposable single-use utensils (serving spoons, plates, cups, etc.) and single-use disposable plastic gloves will come into direct contact with Certified Food when handling is authorized. e. Participation. The FSA ensures procedures are in place to provide a Religious Diet participant list and production worksheet to Food Service staff. Inmates participating in the Certified Food Component are not authorized to consume mainline or hot bar food items; however, they may consume items from a salad bar (where salad bars are part of the Food Service program), knowing that salad bar items may not meet their religious dietary needs. Violations will be reported as required by the Program Statement Religious Beliefs and Practices. > One important catch: if you sign up for the certified religious diet, you're expected to eat only from that program, not the regular mainline (salad bar is the exception). Getting caught eating mainline food can be reported as a violation of the religious-diet program. So it's a commitment, choosing the religious diet means sticking to it, not mixing and matching. CHAPTER 4 – RELIGIOUS DIET PROGRAM, 2. NO-FLESH OPTION (EXCERPT) A no-flesh protein option will be provided at both noon and evening meals whenever a main entree containing flesh is offered. No-flesh production requirements will be determined by the FSA. Vegetables and starches seasoned with flesh will have an alternate no-flesh option. > There's always a vegetarian ('no-flesh') protein at lunch and dinner when the main dish has meat, and even side dishes cooked with meat get a no-flesh alternative. So a vegetarian doesn't need a special program to eat, the mainline itself always includes a meat-free option. Good to know if a loved one doesn't eat meat. CHAPTER 4 – RELIGIOUS DIET PROGRAM, 5. RAMADAN (EXCERPT) During Ramadan, inmates participating in the Certified Food Component receive the approved lunch and dinner menu after sundown in the Food Service Department or Special Housing Unit (SHU). At high rise institutions, Special Management Units, etc., participants will receive meals by Satellite Meal Service. In the case of an institutional emergency, all participants will be provided meals via Satellite Meal Service. Inmates who are not participating in the Certified Food Component, but elect to observe Ramadan, may receive a combination of the mainline lunch and dinner menu after sundown in the Food Service Department or SHU. The mainline meal will contain a non-pork entree. Each institution may provide a bag breakfast or allow inmates to go to Food Service for the breakfast meal before dawn. Unless refrigeration is provided or the period between the time the bag breakfasts are removed from temperature control and consumed is less than four hours, bag breakfasts must contain only non-perishable items, such as ultra-high pasteurized milk, fresh fruit, peanut butter, dry cereal, etc. Inmates being provided bag meals will receive these meals during Ramadan meal service either in the Food Service Department or via Satellite Meal Service. > Ramadan is accommodated: meals shift to after sundown, and there's a pre-dawn breakfast (often a bag meal). You can observe Ramadan whether or not you're on the full certified diet. So someone fasting for Ramadan won't simply miss meals, the schedule adjusts. Sign up through the chaplain ahead of time so you're on the list. If sunrise and sunset sequences occur at a time that prevents orderly provision of Ramadan, a variance will be disseminated via memorandum from the AD, HSD and AD, Correctional Programs Division. The variance details procedures required to ensure orderly provision of Ramadan during these solar sequences. CHAPTER 4 – RELIGIOUS DIET PROGRAM, 6. PASSOVER (EXCERPT) During the eight days of Passover, inmates identified by Religious Services are given the Kosher for Passover menu in place of the Certified Food Menu. Kosher for Passover menu data are kept at the national level by the NFSA under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site and at the local level by the FSA. When updates are made to Kosher for Passover menu data, the NFSA coordinates with the NCA and notifies the regional and institutional FSAs via intra-agency email. Each institutional FSA ensures Food Service staff have access to Kosher for Passover menu data. The list of participants must be received eight weeks before Passover from Religious Services to allow time to procure the required items. Food Service should order an adequate number of meals to provide Passover meals to new commitments. The FSA will ensure procedures are in place to provide a Passover participant list and production worksheet to Food Service staff. > Passover gets a dedicated kosher-for-Passover menu for the eight days. The catch is timing: the participant list has to be in eight weeks ahead so food can be ordered. So if Passover observance matters, get on the list with the chaplain early, not at the last minute. Jewish inmates participating in the Certified Food Component receive the Kosher for Passover meals in place of the Certified Food Meals for that period. If Passover meals are not consumed during Passover, those meals that are not consumed may be used as a substitute for the national Certified Food Menu meals. However, these meals will not be utilized during the next year’s Passover observance. CHAPTER 5 – MEDICAL DIETS/SELF-SELECTION ON MAINLINE, 1. GENERAL POLICY (EXCERPT) The FSA will provide medical diets at all institutions. A Bureau Registered Dietitian should certify the most common medical diet food offerings (i.e., reduced carbohydrate, calorie controlled, sodium controlled, low fat). A copy of the certification memorandum/letter will be maintained on the Bureau’s intranet site or in the FSA office. > Medical diets, for diabetes, blood pressure, heart conditions, mostly work by 'self-selection': the menu is labeled, and you pick the items that fit your medical needs (low sodium, reduced carb, low fat, etc.) off the regular line. It's not usually a separate tray. For most conditions, managing your diet inside means learning to read the menu labels and choose accordingly. Medical diets are ordered through Health Services, not food service. Menu item replacements may not always be provided when inmates may have to avoid certain foods in the self-selection process. If there is concern the medical diet self-selection process is not adequate to meet the nutritional needs, a Bureau Registered Dietitian should be consulted to determine if a special diet is indicated. Special diets are based on the Guidance for Medical Diets which is available on the Food Service Branch page on the Bureau’s intranet site. If separate special diets are prescribed other than those listed in the Guidance for Medical Diets, the FSA should consult with a Bureau Registered Dietitian. If a special diet is determined to be required to ensure adequate nutrition, it will be provided by pre-plating or controlled plating. > If self-selection from the regular menu can't meet someone's medical needs, they can escalate to a 'special' (therapeutic) diet ordered by Health Services, where the food is actually pre-plated for them rather than self-picked. This is the path for serious dietary conditions the standard menu can't handle. It requires a medical provider to order it, so the route is through medical, and if a real dietary need isn't being met, that's a Health Services conversation and potentially a grievance if it's ignored. Source: PS 4700.08 (5/7/2026), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/4700\_008.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/4700_008.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5050-50-compassionate-release-reduction-in-sentence # Compassionate Release / Reduction in Sentence PS 5050.50 (1/17/2019) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5050_050_EN.pdf) The real criteria and the real process, starting with a written request to the warden. The categories are here in the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s own words: terminal illness, debilitating medical condition, elderly inmates, and the two family situations, the death or incapacitation of a child's caregiver and the incapacitation of a spouse or registered partner. So is the referral packet the warden has to build, which tells you exactly what documentation to start gathering now. And so is the sentence that changed everything in 2019: after a final [administrative remedy](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program) denial or 30 days of silence from the warden, whichever comes first, the motion can go straight to the sentencing judge. Read this instead of buying a "compassionate release packet" from a consultant. The criteria are public. The template industry is betting you won't look. [More on that here.](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/paying-a-non-lawyer-for-legal-work) SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE § 571.60 (EXCERPT) The Bureau uses 18 U.S.C. 4205(g) and 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A) in particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by the court at the time of sentencing. > Read the bar here before you get your hopes up: "particularly extraordinary or compelling" and something the judge couldn't have seen coming at sentencing. This is a narrow door, not a general early-release program. It's asked about far more than it's granted. Also, "compassionate release" and "reduction in sentence" (RIS) are the same thing in this policy, so don't get thrown when the paperwork says RIS. 18 U.S.C. 3582 was amended by the First Step Act of 2018, revisions noted below in Summary of Changes. For the purposes of this Program Statement, the terms "compassionate release" and "reduction in sentence" are used interchangeably. In deciding whether to file a motion under either 18 U.S.C. 4205(g) or 18 U.S.C. 3582, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) should consider whether the inmate's release would pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community. > Danger-to-the-community runs through every decision in this policy. Even a strong medical or family case gets weighed against whether letting the person out is a safety risk. It's the thread that ties the whole thing together, so keep it in mind as you read the rest. Requirements of section 603(b) of the First Step Act, codified at 18 USC § 3582: Requiring inmates be informed of reduction in sentence availability and process; Modifying definition of "terminally ill;" Requiring notice and assistance for terminally ill offenders; Requiring requests from terminally ill offenders to be processed within 14 days; Requiring notice and assistance for debilitated offenders; and Specifying inmates may file directly to court after exhaustion of administrative remedies, or 30 days from receipt of a request by the Warden's Office. > This is the single biggest change, from the First Step Act in 2018, and it's the thing worth knowing. For most of BOP history, if the Bureau said no, that was the end of it. Now you don't need the BOP's blessing. If they haven't acted within 30 days of the warden getting your request, or you've run out the appeals, you can take it straight to the sentencing judge yourself. The BOP's motion is no longer the only path. This is why a defense lawyer matters here, since the court route is theirs to run, not the BOP's. SECTION 2: INITIATION OF REQUEST – EXTRAORDINARY OR COMPELLING CIRCUMSTANCES § 571.61 (EXCERPT) a. A request for a motion under 18 U.S.C. 4205(g) or 3582(c)(1)(A) shall be submitted to the Warden. Ordinarily, the request shall be in writing, and submitted by the inmate. An inmate may initiate a request for consideration under 18 U.S.C. 4205(g) or 3582(c)(1)(A) only when there are particularly extraordinary or compelling circumstances which could not reasonably have been foreseen by the court at the time of sentencing. The inmate's request shall at a minimum contain the following information: (1) The extraordinary or compelling circumstances that the inmate believes warrant consideration. (2) Proposed release plans, including where the inmate will reside, how the inmate will support himself/herself, and, if the basis for the request involves the inmate's health, information on where the inmate will receive medical treatment, and how the inmate will pay for such treatment. > The request starts with the warden, in writing, and it needs two things: the extraordinary circumstances, and a real release plan. People forget the second half and it sinks requests. Where will they live, how will they eat, and for a medical case, which doctor or hospice and who's paying. "They'll figure it out" isn't a plan. Have the housing and the medical arrangement lined up before you file. b. The Bureau of Prisons processes a request made by another person on behalf of an inmate in the same manner as an inmate's request. Staff shall refer a request received at the Central Office to the Warden of the institution where the inmate is confined. > You, on the outside, can file this for your person. A spouse, a parent, an attorney can submit it and it's treated the same as if the inmate filed it themselves. That matters a lot when the person inside is too sick to do it. Don't wait for them to manage it if they can't. A request for a RIS is considered "submitted" for the purposes of 18 USC §3582 (c)(1), when received by the Warden in accordance with this section. SECTION 3: REQUESTS BASED ON MEDICAL CIRCUMSTANCES (EXCERPT) The criteria for a reduction in sentence (RIS) request may include the following: a. Terminal Medical Condition. RIS consideration may be given to inmates who have been diagnosed with a terminal, incurable disease and whose life expectancy is eighteen (18) months or less, and/or has a disease or condition with an end-of-life trajectory under 18 USC § 3582(d)(1). The BOP's consideration should include assessment of the primary (terminal) disease, prognosis, impact of other serious medical conditions of the inmate, and degree of functional impairment (if any). Functional impairment (e.g., limitations on activities of daily living such as feeding and dressing oneself) is not required for inmates diagnosed with terminal medical conditions; however, functional impairment may be a factor when considering the inmate's ability or inability to reoffend. > The clearest medical path: a terminal, incurable diagnosis with roughly 18 months or less to live. The old policy used 12 months; First Step Act widened it to 18. You don't have to prove the person can't care for themselves for a terminal case, the diagnosis and prognosis carry it. Get the estimate of life expectancy in writing from the doctor, because that number is what the whole request turns on. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(2)(A), in the case of a diagnosis of a terminal illness, the Bureau of Prisons shall, subject to confidentiality requirements: (i) not later than 72 hours after the diagnosis notify the defendant's attorney, partner, and family members of the defendant's condition and inform the defendant's attorney, partner, and family members that they may prepare and submit on the defendant's behalf a request for a sentence reduction pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(A); > For a terminal diagnosis, the law now puts real clocks on the BOP. Within 72 hours they're supposed to notify family and the attorney. Within 7 days they have to allow an in-person visit. If asked, staff have to help the inmate actually write the request. And once a request comes in, they have 14 days to process it. These deadlines exist because people used to die waiting. If a facility is blowing past them, that's not normal and it's worth pushing on, in writing, and looping in the lawyer. (ii) not later than 7 days after the date of the diagnosis, provide the defendant's partner and family members (including extended family) with an opportunity to visit the defendant in person; (iii) upon request from the defendant or his attorney, partner, or a family member, ensure that Bureau of Prisons employees assist the defendant in the preparation, drafting, and submission of a request for a sentence reduction pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(A); and (iv) not later than 14 days of receipt of a request for a sentence reduction submitted on the defendant's behalf by the defendant or the defendant's attorney, partner, or family member, process the request. The statutory time frames of section 3582(d)(2)(A), begin once the Clinical Director of an institution makes a terminal diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made, the Clinical Director will inform the Warden and the appropriate Unit Manager as soon as possible so as to ensure requirements are met. > Here's the catch in those deadlines: the clock doesn't start when an outside doctor says terminal, or when you know it's terminal. It starts when the prison's own Clinical Director makes the call. So the practical fight is often getting that internal diagnosis on the record, because until it exists, none of the 72-hour or 14-day protections have technically kicked in. If a visit is denied for security concerns, as reflected in 18 U.S.C. § 3582(d)(3)(J), the reasons should be documented. The Warden will forward the information indicated in Section 8 of this policy, below, to Central Office within 14 days. b. Debilitated Medical Condition. RIS consideration may also be given to inmates who have an incurable, progressive illness or who have suffered a debilitating injury from which they will not recover. The BOP should consider a RIS if the inmate is: Completely disabled, meaning the inmate cannot carry on any self-care and is totally confined to a bed or chair; or > The second medical path is for people who aren't dying but are severely broken down, permanently. The bar is high and physical: either they can't take care of themselves at all and are stuck in a bed or chair, or they can barely self-care and are in a bed or chair more than half their waking hours. Note there's no 18-month clock here, but the disability standard is strict. Dementia and traumatic brain injury count too. Capable of only limited self-care and is confined to a bed or chair more than 50% of waking hours. SECTION 4: REQUESTS BASED ON NON-MEDICAL CIRCUMSTANCES – ELDERLY INMATES (EXCERPT) The criteria for a RIS request may include the following: a. "New Law" Elderly Inmates. Inmates sentenced for an offense that occurred on or after November 1, 1987 (e.g., "new law"), who are age 70 years or older and have served 30 years or more of their term of imprisonment. b. Elderly Inmates with Medical Conditions. Inmates who fit the following criteria: Age 65 and older. Suffer from chronic or serious medical conditions related to the aging process. Experiencing deteriorating mental or physical health that substantially diminishes their ability to function in a correctional facility. Conventional treatment promises no substantial improvement to their mental or physical condition. Have served at least 50% of their sentence. Additionally, for inmates in this category, the BOP should consider the following factors when evaluating the risk that an elderly inmate may reoffend: The age at which the inmate committed the current offense. Whether the inmate suffered from these medical conditions at the time the inmate committed the offense. Whether the inmate suffered from these medical conditions at the time of sentencing and whether the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) mentions these conditions. The BOP Medical Director will develop and issue medical criteria to help evaluate the inmate's suitability for consideration under this RIS category. c. Other Elderly Inmates. Inmates age 65 or older who have served the greater of 10 years or 75% of the term of imprisonment to which the inmate was sentenced. > There are age-based paths that don't require anyone to be dying, but the numbers are steep. Three buckets: 70+ with 30 years served; 65+ with serious aging-related illness and 50% of the sentence served; or 65+ with the greater of 10 years or 75% served. For most first-time white-collar folks doing a few years, none of these will apply. They're built for people who've been inside a very long time. Better to know that now than chase a door that isn't open. SECTION 5: REQUESTS BASED ON NON-MEDICAL CIRCUMSTANCES – DEATH OR INCAPACITATION OF THE FAMILY MEMBER CAREGIVER. (EXCERPT) The criteria for a RIS request may include the death or incapacitation of the family member caregiver of an inmate's child, e.g., RIS requests from inmates whose biological or legally adopted child or children ("child") are suddenly without a family member caregiver due to that caregiver's death or incapacitation. > A non-medical path people don't realize exists: if the person who was raising the inmate's minor child dies or becomes seriously incapacitated, and the inmate is the only one left who can care for the child, that can be grounds. The word "only" is doing heavy lifting, if there's another family member who can step in, the case gets weak. You'll need the death certificate or medical proof, proof the inmate is the parent, proof of the child, and a concrete plan to take custody and provide immediately on release. It's a documentation-heavy path, but it's real. For these requests, "child" means a person under the age of 18 and "incapacitation" means the family member caregiver suffered a severe injury (e.g., auto accident) or suffers from a severe illness (e.g., cancer) that renders the caregiver incapable of caring for the child. The care of a child may be requested to be a condition of the inmate's release to a supervised release term. Thus, failure to care for the child may result in a finding of a supervised release violation and return to custody. > If someone gets out on a caregiver basis, caring for that child (or later, the spouse) can be written into their supervised-release conditions. Which means if they don't actually do the caregiving, that's a violation and they can be sent back. The release is tied to the reason for it. SECTION 6: REQUESTS BASED ON NON-MEDICAL CIRCUMSTANCES – INCAPACITATION OF A SPOUSE OR REGISTERED PARTNER (EXCERPT) The criteria for a RIS request may include the incapacitation of an inmate's spouse or registered partner when the inmate would be the only available caregiver for the spouse or registered partner. > There's a parallel path when it's the inmate's spouse or registered partner who becomes incapacitated, and the inmate is the only one who can care for them. Same high bar as the debilitated-inmate standard: the spouse has to be completely unable to self-care and bed- or chair-bound, or have severe cognitive damage. And the relationship has to predate the offense and be legally recognized (marriage, legal common-law, civil union, or registered domestic partnership). A long-term partner you never married is going to have a hard time qualifying here. For these requests, "spouse" means an individual in a relationship with the inmate, where that relationship has been legally recognized as a marriage, including a legally-recognized common-law marriage. "Registered partner" means an individual in a relationship with the inmate, where that relationship has been legally recognized as a civil union or registered domestic partnership. The relationship should have been established before the inmate's offense date of arrest, and should be verified by information in the PSR or other administratively acceptable documentation (e.g. marriage certificate). For these requests, "incapacitation" means the inmate's spouse or registered partner has: Suffered a serious injury, or a debilitating physical illness and the result of the injury or illness is that the spouse or registered partner is completely disabled, meaning that the spouse or registered partner cannot carry on any self-care and is totally confined to a bed or chair; or A severe cognitive deficit (e.g., Alzheimer's disease or traumatic brain injury that has severely affected the spouse's or registered partner's mental capacity or function), but may not be confined to a bed or chair. SECTION 7: FACTORS AND EVALUATION OF CIRCUMSTANCES IN RIS REQUESTS (EXCERPT) For all RIS requests, the following factors should be considered: Nature and circumstances of the inmate's offense. Criminal history. Comments from victims. Unresolved detainers. Supervised release violations. Institutional adjustment. Disciplinary infractions. Personal history derived from the PSR. Length of sentence and amount of time served. This factor is considered with respect to proximity to release date or Residential Reentry Center (RRC) or home confinement date. Inmate's current age. Inmate's age at the time of offense and sentencing. Inmate's release plans (employment, medical, financial). Whether release would minimize the severity of the offense. When reviewing RIS requests, these factors are neither exclusive nor weighted. These factors should be considered to assess whether the RIS request presents particularly extraordinary and compelling circumstances. > Even if someone clearly meets a medical or family criterion, the BOP still weighs a pile of other stuff: the offense, criminal history, victim input, disciplinary record inside, how much time is left. And they openly say these factors aren't weighted, meaning there's no formula, it's discretion. Two people with identical diagnoses can get different answers. A clean record inside and being close to your release date help; shots and a lot of time left hurt. Overall, for each RIS request, the BOP should consider whether the inmate's release would pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community. SECTION 8: APPROVAL OF REQUEST § 571.62 (EXCERPT) a. The Bureau of Prisons makes a motion under 18 U.S.C. 4205(g) or 3582(c)(1)(A) only after review of the request by the Warden, the General Counsel, and either the Medical Director for medical referrals or the Assistant Director, Correctional Programs Division for non-medical referrals, and with the approval of the Director, Bureau of Prisons. > For the BOP to file its own motion, the request has to clear four levels: the warden, General Counsel, a medical or programs director, and finally the BOP Director personally. That's a lot of desks, and it's slow. This is exactly why the First Step Act's court option matters, because you're not stuck waiting on this whole chain if you can go to the judge after 30 days instead. The Warden's referral at a minimum must include the following: a. The Warden's written recommendation as well as any other pertinent written recommendations or comments made by staff during the institution review of the request. b. A complete copy of Judgment and Commitment Order or Judgment in a Criminal Case and sentence computation data. c. A progress report that is not more than 30 days old. All detainers and holds should be resolved prior to the Warden's submission of a case under 18 U.S.C. 3582 (c)(1)(A) or 4205(g). If a pending charge or detainer cannot be resolved, an explanation of the charge or conviction status is needed. > A detainer, a hold from another jurisdiction like a state or ICE, can gum this up. The policy wants detainers cleared before the case moves. If your person has one hanging over them, deal with it early, because it can quietly stall or sink a compassionate release even when the medical case is strong. d. All pertinent medical records if the reason for the request involves the inmate's health. Pertinent records include, at a minimum, a Comprehensive Medical Summary by the attending physician, which should also include an estimate of life expectancy, and all relevant test results, consultations, and referral reports/opinions. e. The referral packet must include, when available, a copy of the Presentence Investigation and Form U.S.A. 792, Report on Convicted Offender by U.S. Attorney, Custody Classification form, Notice of Action forms, Probation form 7a, information on fines, CIM Case Information Summary (BP-A0339), and any other documented information that is pertinent to the request. In the absence of a Form U.S.A. 792, the views of the prosecuting Assistant U.S. Attorney may be solicited; those views should be made part of the Warden's referral memo. f. If the inmate is subject to the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 (VWPA), confirmation of notification to the appropriate victim(s) or witness(es) must be incorporated into the Warden's referral. A summary of any comments received must also be incorporated into the referral. If the inmate is not subject to the VWPA, a statement to that effect must be in the referral. g. For a request under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A), when a term of supervised release follows the term of imprisonment, confirmation that release plans have been approved by the appropriate U.S. Probation Office must be included in the referral. If the inmate will be released to an area outside the sentencing district, the U.S. Probation Office assuming supervision must be contacted. If no supervision follows the term of imprisonment, release plans must still be developed. > The release plan isn't just something you write down, it has to get signed off by U.S. Probation, the same folks who'll supervise after release. If the person is going somewhere other than the sentencing district, the receiving probation office has to be looped in. So the housing and support plan needs to be real enough that Probation will actually approve it. Vague plans die here. h. The development of release plans must include, at a minimum, a place of residence and the method of financial support, and may require coordination with various segments of the community, such as hospices, the Department of Veterans Affairs or veterans' groups, Social Security Administration, welfare agencies, local medical organizations, or the inmate's family. i. Because there is no final agency decision until the Director has reviewed the request, staff at any level may not contact the sentencing judge or solicit the judge's opinion through other officers of the court. (2) If the General Counsel determines that the request warrants approval, the General Counsel shall solicit the opinion of either the Medical Director or the Assistant Director, Correctional Programs Division depending upon the nature of the basis for the request. With this opinion, the General Counsel shall forward the entire matter to the Director, Bureau of Prisons, for final decision. (3) If the Director, Bureau of Prisons, grants a request under 18 U.S.C. 4205(g), the Director will contact the U.S. Attorney in the district in which the inmate was sentenced regarding moving the sentencing court on behalf of the Bureau of Prisons to reduce the minimum term of the inmate's sentence to time served. If the Director, Bureau of Prisons, grants a request under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A), the Director will contact the U.S. Attorney in the district in which the inmate was sentenced regarding moving the sentencing court on behalf of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to reduce the inmate's term of imprisonment to time served. b. Upon receipt of notice that the sentencing court has entered an order granting the motion under 18 U.S.C. 4205(g), the Warden of the institution where the inmate is confined shall schedule the inmate for hearing on the earliest Parole Commission docket. Institution staff prepare an amended Sentence Data Summary for use at this hearing. Staff provide a copy of the most recent progress report to the Parole Commission. Upon receipt of notice that the sentencing court has entered an order granting the motion under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A), the Warden of the institution where the inmate is confined shall release the inmate forthwith. c. In the event the basis of the request is the medical condition of the inmate, staff shall expedite the request at all levels. > Two good things here. Once the court grants it, release is supposed to happen right away, not weeks later. And medical cases are supposed to be expedited at every level. "Expedited" doesn't mean the paperwork gets to skip, though, the documentation still has to be complete. Fast and thorough, not fast instead of thorough. A request for an expedited review permits the review process to be expedited, but does not lessen the requirement that documentation be provided. SECTION 9: DENIAL OF REQUEST § 571.63 (EXCERPT) a. When an inmate's request is denied by the Warden, the inmate will receive written notice and a statement of reasons for the denial. The inmate may appeal the denial through the Administrative Remedy Procedure (28 CFR part 542, subpart B). b. When an inmate's request for consideration under 18 U.S.C. 4205(g) or 3582(c)(1)(A) is denied by the General Counsel, the General Counsel shall provide the inmate with a written notice and statement of reasons for the denial. This denial constitutes a final administrative decision. c. When the Director, Bureau of Prisons, denies an inmate's request, the Director shall provide the inmate with a written notice and statement of reasons for the denial within 20 workdays after receipt of the referral from the Office of General Counsel. A denial by the Director constitutes a final administrative decision. d. Because a denial by the General Counsel or Director, Bureau of Prisons, constitutes a final administrative decision, an inmate may not appeal the denial through the Administrative Remedy Procedure. Under 18 USC 3582 (c) (1), an inmate may file a request for a reduction in sentence with the sentencing court after receiving a BP-11 response under subparagraph (a), the denial from the General Counsel under subparagraph (d), or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the Warden of the inmate's facility, whichever is earlier. > Don't read a denial as the end. If the warden denies, you can appeal inside the BOP. If General Counsel or the Director denies, that's the BOP's final word and you can't appeal it internally, but that's actually your green light to go to court. Whichever comes first, a full denial or just 30 days passing since the warden got the request, you can file with the sentencing judge. The BOP saying no is not the same as the answer being no anymore. This is the whole point of the 2018 change. SECTION 10: INELIGIBLE OFFENDERS § 571.64 (EXCERPT) The Bureau of Prisons has no authority to initiate a request under 18 U.S.C. 4205(g) or 3582(c)(1)(A) on behalf of state prisoners housed in Bureau of Prisons facilities or D.C. Code offenders confined in federal institutions. The Bureau of Prisons cannot initiate such a motion on behalf of federal offenders who committed their offenses prior to November 1, 1987, and received non-parolable sentences. > This only works for federal offenders. If the person is a state prisoner being housed in a federal facility, or a D.C. Code offender, the BOP can't file this for them. Worth checking early so you don't spend energy on a door that's closed for their specific situation. Source: PS 5050.50 (1/17/2019), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5050\_050\_EN.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5050_050_EN.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5100-08-inmate-security-designation-and-custody-classification # Inmate Security Designation & Custody Classification PS 5100.08 (9/12/2006, CN-3 5/6/2026) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5100_008_cn-3.pdf) The scoring system that decides your security level and, from there, which facilities you're even eligible for. This is the document that makes ["placement services" bogus](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison), because designation runs on this scoresheet and bed space, not on anyone's Rolodex. First, the one sentence of statute that settles the whole argument. Then the machinery: the point bands, the overrides, and the three points self-surrender (reporting to prison on your own) is worth. 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b): PLACE OF IMPRISONMENT (FINAL SENTENCE) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a designation of a place of imprisonment under this subsection is not reviewable by any court. > One phrase, and it's the whole ballgame. Where you go is the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s call, no court can overrule it, and therefore no consultant can guarantee it. The judge can recommend a facility (worth asking for, costs nothing), but recommend is the load-bearing word. Anyone selling more than that is selling weather. [The full breakdown →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/can-you-choose-your-federal-prison) The authority behind PS 5100.08. CHANGE NOTICE (EXCERPT) Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification. Approved by William K. Marshall III, Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Number 5100.08, CN-3. Date May 6, 2026. This Change Notice (CN) implements a change to Program Statement 5100.08, Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification, dated September 12, 2006. Change notice updates Section 1, Purpose and Scope. The new language is highlighted. The deleted text has a Strikethrough. > Heads up on what this file is. The classification manual itself is from 2006 and still the governing policy; this 2026 Change Notice only rewrites the opening 'Purpose and Scope' section. So the scoring rules, security levels, and Public Safety Factors below are the long-standing 2006 system, still in force. The new part is mostly about the Attorney General's authority over placement (see the next note). 1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE. This Program Statement provides policy and procedure regarding the Bureau of Prisons inmate classification system. The classification of inmates is necessary to place each inmate in the most appropriate security level institution that also meets their program needs and is consistent with the Bureau’s mission to protect society. The Bureau’s classification, designation and redesignation procedures are consistent with the statutory authority contained in 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b). Designation and redesignation of an inmate’s place of imprisonment shall be consistent with the statutory authority contained in 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b), which requires the Bureau of Prisons to designate an inmate’s place of imprisonment subject to consideration of several factors. 28 U.S.C. § 509 provides, “[a]ll functions of other officers of the Department of Justice and all functions of agencies and employees of the Department of Justice are vested in the Attorney General.” In certain circumstances, the Attorney General may exercise authority to designate or redesignate the place of a prisoner’s imprisonment, consistent with the requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b). > What the 2026 change adds: it spells out that the Attorney General can step in and direct where a specific prisoner is held, overriding the BOP's normal process. In practice this almost never touches an ordinary case. But it's now written into the policy that placement isn't purely a BOP call in every situation. Notice of the Attorney General’s intention to exercise vested authority to designate or redesignate the place of a prisoner’s imprisonment shall be provided to the Bureau of Prisons as soon as practicable. Absent such notification, procedures for making classification, designation and redesignation decisions as described herein should be followed by the Bureau of Prisons. Where authority to determine the place of a prisoner’s imprisonment is invoked by the Attorney General, the Bureau may provide relevant information in order to facilitate the determination. The Bureau may also facilitate communication or correspondence between the inmate and the Office of the Attorney General. All classification, designation and redesignation decisions are made without favoritism given to an inmate’s social or economic status. > The policy states outright that where you get sent isn't supposed to be influenced by money or status. Worth remembering when a 'prison consultant' hints they can buy or pull strings for a better placement. The written rule is the opposite: no favoritism. Nobody can guarantee a facility. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION (EXCERPT) Bureau of Prisons (BOP) institutions are classified into one of five security levels: MINIMUM, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, and ADMINISTRATIVE based on the level of security and staff supervision the institution is able to provide. An institution’s level of security and staff supervision is based on the following factors: mobile patrol; towers; perimeter barriers; detection devices; internal security; type of inmate housing; inmate-to-staff ratio; and, any special institutional mission. > Federal prisons come in five security levels: minimum (the 'camps'), low, medium, high (the penitentiaries/USPs), and administrative (special-purpose, like medical or detention). Where someone lands is the single biggest factor in what their time will actually be like. The next notes explain how the BOP decides. Similarly, BOP inmates are classified based on the following factors: The level of security and supervision the inmate requires; and, The inmate’s program needs, i.e., substance abuse, educational/vocational training, individual counseling, group counseling, or medical/mental health treatment, etc. In summary, the initial assignment (designation) of an inmate to a particular institution is based primarily upon: The level of security and supervision the inmate requires; The level of security and staff supervision the institution is able to provide; and, The inmate’s program needs. Additional factors that are also considered when designating an inmate to a particular institution include, but are not limited to: The inmate’s release residence; The level of overcrowding at an institution; Any security, location or program recommendation made by the sentencing court; Any Central Inmate Monitoring issues (see Program Statement Central Inmate Monitoring Program); Any additional security measures to ensure the protection of victims/witnesses and the public in general; and, Any other factor(s) which may involve the inmate’s confinement; the protection of society; and/or the safe and orderly management of a BOP facility. Initial designations to BOP institutions are initiated, in most cases by staff at the Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC), Grand Prairie, Texas, who assess and enter information from the sentencing court, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorneys Office or other prosecuting authority and the U.S. Probation Office about the inmate into a computer database (SENTRY). The Bureau of Prisons shall designate the place of the prisoner's imprisonment, and shall, subject to bed availability, the prisoner's security designation, the prisoner's programmatic needs, the prisoner's mental and medical health needs, any request made by the prisoner related to faith-based needs, recommendations of the sentencing court, and other security concerns of the Bureau of Prisons, place the prisoner in a facility as close as practicable to the prisoner's primary residence, and to the extent practicable, in a facility within 500 driving miles of that residence. > The BOP is supposed to try to place you within 500 driving miles of your release-area home, so family can visit. 'Supposed to try' is the key phrase. Bed space, your security level, medical needs, and other factors can all push you farther away. Proximity is a goal, not a promise, and this is a common source of heartbreak for families expecting someone nearby. SENTRY then calculates a point score for that inmate which (for example, 18 points) is then matched with a commensurate security level institution. Security Level, Custody Level, Male, Female: MINIMUM, COMMUNITY and OUT, 0-11 points, 0-15 points. LOW, OUT and IN, 12-15 points, 16-30 points. MEDIUM, OUT and IN, 16-23 points, \*. HIGH, IN and MAXIMUM, 24+ points, 31+ points. ADMINISTRATIVE, All custody levels, All point totals. > The system scores you on points, and the number lands you in a level. For men: 0 to 11 points is minimum (camp), 12 to 15 is low, 16 to 23 is medium, 24 and up is high. The score is built from your offense severity, criminal history, sentence length, any history of violence or escape, and more. Fewer points, lower security. This is the math behind 'what kind of joint am I going to.' An inmate’s security point score is not the only factor used in determining a commensurate security level for an inmate. The application of a PSF or MGTV could effect placement at either a higher or lower level institution than the specified point total indicates. (SEE CHAPTER 5 FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION) NOTE: A security level cannot be assigned by SENTRY without completing an Inmate Load and Security Designation Form. If an inmate has not been assigned a security level, SENTRY will automatically assign “UNKNOWN” as the security level. \* Female security level institutions are classified as Minimum, Low, High and Administrative. > The point score isn't the whole story. Two overrides can move you off what the points alone would say: a Public Safety Factor (PSF) can bump you UP regardless of a low score, and a Management Variable (MGTV) can move you either direction for case-specific reasons. This is why someone with a squeaky-clean low score can still be kept out of a camp. The next notes cover both. Once all necessary information has been entered into the SENTRY database, a DSCC or Medical Designations Officer, (hereafter, Designator) selects an institution for service of sentence based on all the previously mentioned factors. Redesignations (transfers) from one Bureau institution to another are considered in much the same manner using many of the same factors used at the time of initial designation. In addition, the inmate’s institutional adjustment and program performance are also carefully reviewed when redesignation is considered. > Your security level isn't frozen. Transfers get reviewed on the same factors as the original placement, plus how you've behaved and whether you've done your programming. Good conduct and completed programs can support a move to lower security over time; getting in trouble can push the other way. So placement is a starting point, not a life sentence to one facility. Finally, an initial custody level (COMMUNITY, IN, OUT, MAXIMUM) is also assigned to the inmate that is consistent with the institutions mission. (See previous chart). An inmate’s custody level within any given security level institution is routinely reviewed and may change for various reasons during the period of incarceration. CHAPTER 2: DEFINITIONS (EXCERPT) PRIVATIZED FACILITY. A prison, institution, or other correctional facility that is operated or supervised by a non-governmental entity. Privatized facilities are managed by private organizations or individuals with oversight provided by Bureau staff. PUBLIC SAFETY FACTOR. There are certain demonstrated behaviors which require increased security measures to ensure the protection of society. There are nine Public Safety Factors (PSFs) which are applied to inmates who are not appropriate for placement at an institution which would permit inmate access to the community (i.e., MINIMUM security). The application of a PSF overrides security point scores to ensure the appropriate security level is assigned to an inmate, based on his or her demonstrated current or prior behavior. > This is the big one for the camp question. A Public Safety Factor is a specific fact about your case that says 'this person shouldn't be at a camp,' and it overrides a low point score. If any PSF applies to you, minimum security (the camp) is off the table no matter how few points you have. So a first-time nonviolent defendant can still be barred from a camp by a single PSF. The nine are listed next. REDESIGNATION. The reassignment of an inmate from one institution to another after initial designation. Unit staff submit a request to the DSCC, and the inmate’s case is reviewed for possible transfer. Approval of a redesignation results in an order from DSCC staff indicating a correctional institution to which an inmate is to be transferred. The actual movement of an inmate from one institution or facility to another is referred to as a transfer. SECURITY DESIGNATION DATA (EXCERPT) The Security Designation Data section (Items 1 to 18) of the Inmate Load and Security Designation form (BP-337) records sentencing, programing recommendations, and background information from the Judgment, the Statement of Reasons (SOR), and the PSR. This information is used to determine the inmate’s security level. 1. JUDGE. Enter the sentencing Judge's last name. 2. RECOMMENDED FACILITY. The court may recommend a specific institution or a geographical region for a newly committed inmate. Enter the name of the recommended institution or region. If a specific SENTRY facility code is entered, that facility will appear at the top of the list presented to the Designator for consideration. 3. RECOMMENDED PROGRAM. Enter the name or type of any program recommended by the sentencing Judge. 4. USM OFFICE. Enter the location of the USM Office (e.g., E/VA-NOR). 5. VOLUNTARY SURRENDER (EXCERPT) This item allows for the subtraction of three points from the Security Point Total, Item 15, when the Judgment indicates the inmate was allowed to voluntarily surrender. For purposes of this item, voluntary surrender means the inmate was not escorted by a law enforcement officer to either the U.S. Marshals Office or the place of confinement. Additionally, this item applies only to post-sentencing voluntary surrender, and does not include cases where the inmate surrendered to the U.S. Marshals on the same day as sentencing. Voluntary Surrender Credit may only be applied to the initial term of confinement; it may not be applied to any subsequent Supervised Release, Mandatory Release or parole Violation return to custody. > Directly relevant if you're self-surrendering: if the judge lets you report to prison on your own (not hauled in by law enforcement), you get 3 points knocked off your security score. Three points can be the difference between a camp and a low. It only counts for a true post-sentencing voluntary surrender, not turning yourself in to the Marshals the same day you're sentenced. If self-surrender is on the table, this is a concrete reason it matters. 5a. VOLUNTARY SURRENDER DATE. If the court has provided for voluntary surrender, enter the date of the voluntary surrender in this block. If the court provided for voluntary surrender but did not provide a specific date for the surrender, the DSCC will contact the court to establish a mutually agreeable date. NOTE: In cases where the court allows the inmate to voluntarily surrender but the inmate will not receive (-3) points on this item the date will still be entered on this item. 5b. VOLUNTARY SURRENDER LOCATION. The DSCC will note whether the inmate is to voluntarily surrender to the USMS or to the designated institution. 6. MONTHS TO RELEASE (EXCERPT) This item reflects the estimated number of months the inmate is expected to be incarcerated. Consecutive federal sentences will be added together for classification purposes. Federal sentences may have different beginning dates, based on the Judgment Order. There may even be a computation in SENTRY with a beginning date in the future. Based on the inmate’s sentence(s), enter the total number of months remaining, less 15% (for sentences over 12 months), and credit for any jail time served. This item is not figured into the security point total but impacts the Sentence Length Public Safety Factor. > When they estimate how long you'll actually serve, they take your sentence and cut about 15% off (that's the good-conduct-time assumption for sentences over a year). So a rough real-time estimate is sentence length times 0.85, minus any jail credit you've already banked. This number feeds the Sentence Length factor below, and it's a decent back-of-envelope way to sanity-check anyone's release math. Example: An adult convicted of Breaking and Entering under the Sentence Reform Act is sentenced to eight years. The expected length of incarceration is (96 months x 85% = 81.6 months). Round to the nearest whole number to get 82 and subtract any jail time credit (180 days) = 76 months to release. NOTE: Enter 540 months for death penalty cases, life sentences, and Parolable life sentences for which a parole date has not been established. MANAGEMENT VARIABLES (EXCERPT) S PSF Waived. An inmate may receive up to three Public Safety Factors (PSFs). PSFs may be waived after review and approval by the DSCC Administrator. When Public Safety Factors are waived causing placement outside normal guidelines, this MGTV will apply. Application of this MGTV mandates that the DSCC Administrator determine the most appropriate level of security required by the inmate and apply a Management Security Level (MSL). The MSL must be at least one level less than the scored security level which is based on the Security Total and PSF(s). Request for Public Safety Factor Waiver. Only the DSCC Administrator is authorized to waive a PSF. A request for waiver of a PSF will be submitted to the DSCC via form 409, available on SALLYPORT. The form 409 will indicate that the request is for waiver of a Public Safety Factor. Items 1 through 7 must be completed when submitting a request for waiver of a PSF. > A PSF can be waived, but only by a senior official at the designation center (the DSCC Administrator), through a formal request. It's not automatic and it's not something you or a consultant can force. If a factor is keeping someone out of a lower-security spot, a waiver is the mechanism, but it's discretionary and rare. Manage expectations accordingly. U Long-term Detainee. Long-term detainees are given an initial custody and security level. However, Custody Classification Forms are not to be completed on long-term detainees due to the unavailability or non-applicability of certain data (i.e., current term of confinement, length of time remaining to serve, accurate criminal history). Therefore, transfers for positive or negative behavior may cause placement in a facility different from his or her scored security or custody level. When needed, this MGTV will be applied by the Detention Services Branch, Correctional Programs Division, Central Office. Long-term criminal detainees whose security or custody level does not match that of their facility will have this Management Variable applied. This applies as well if an inmate rolls over to the status of a long-term detainee after being ordered detained upon expiration of the federal sentence and the security or custody level does not match that of the designated facility. V Greater Security. There may be security concerns which are not adequately reflected in the classification scheme. In circumstances where an inmate represents a greater security risk (i.e., pending charges, detainer, escape risk, etc.) than their assigned security level, they may be placed in an institution outside normal guidelines, and this MGTV will apply. When this MGTV is applied based on institutional behavior which is not supported by a UDC/DHO finding of guilt, staff will ensure compliance with the criteria as set forth in the Program Statement on Inmate Discipline and Special Housing Units. Application of this MGTV mandates the DSCC Administrator determine the most appropriate level of security required by the inmate and apply a Management Security Level (MSL). Designation will then be made to a DFCL commensurate with the inmate’s Management Security Level. The MSL must be at least one level greater than the scored security level which is based on the Security Total and Public Safety Factor(s). This MGTV requires up to a 24 month expiration date. W Lesser Security. There may be security concerns which are not adequately reflected in the classification scheme. In circumstances where an inmate represents a lesser security risk (i.e., detainer removed, positive adjustment, etc.) than the assigned security level, the inmate may be placed in an institution outside normal guidelines. For example, where age is largely the contributing factor in the inmate’s placement, this Management Variable will apply. Application of this MGTV mandates the DSCC Administrator to determine the most appropriate level of security required by the inmate and apply a Management Security Level (MSL). The MSL must be at least one level less than the scored security level which is based on the Security Total and Public Safety Factor(s). > Management Variables let staff move you off your scored level for case-specific reasons. 'Greater Security' (V) bumps you up at least one level, common triggers are a pending case or a detainer from another jurisdiction. 'Lesser Security' (W) moves you down, sometimes used for older inmates. This is the discretionary lever, and it's why a detainer (a hold from another court or ICE) can quietly cost someone a camp placement even with a clean score. PUBLIC SAFETY FACTORS (EXCERPT) A Public Safety Factor (PSF) is relevant factual information regarding the inmate’s current offense, sentence, criminal history or institutional behavior that requires additional security measures be employed to ensure the safety and protection of the public. Public Safety Factors are normally applied on the Inmate Load and Security Designation Form (BP-337) prior to an inmate’s initial assignment to an institution, however, additions or deletions may be made at anytime there after via the Custody Classification Form, (BP-338). A maximum of three PSFs may be applied, however if more than three apply, those which would provide the greatest security and public safety will be utilized. > The nine Public Safety Factors, plain version. B Disruptive Group (validated gang member, pushes to high). C Greatest Severity Offense (your crime is in the most serious tier, floors you at low). F Sex Offender (floors at low, and note it can apply from PSR facts even without a conviction on that charge). G Threat to Government Officials (floors at low). H Deportable Alien (non-citizen facing possible deportation, floors at low). I Sentence Length (see next note). Plus K Violent Behavior, L Serious Escape, M Prison Disturbance, N Juvenile Violence, and O Serious Telephone Abuse. Any one of these can keep you out of a camp. CODE PSF - DESCRIPTION (EXCERPT) A None. No Public Safety Factors apply. B Disruptive Group. A male inmate who is a validated member of a Disruptive Group identified in the Central Inmate Monitoring System will be housed in a High security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived. At the time of initial designation, if the Presentence Investigation Report or other documentation identifies the inmate as a possible member of one of the Central Inmate Monitoring Disruptive Groups, DSCC staff will enter a PSF on the BP-337. However, DSCC staff will not enter the CIM assignment "Disruptive Group." Upon loading this PSF on a not-yet-validated member, DSCC staff will (1) make a notation in the Remarks Section to indicate the need for validation upon arrival at the institution, and (2) notify the Central Office Intelligence Section, via GroupWise, to advise them of the inmate’s status. Upon the inmate's arrival at the designated institution, the intake screener will notify the institution's Special Investigation Supervisor of the inmate's PSF, to initiate the validation process. C Greatest Severity Offense. A male inmate whose current term of confinement falls into the "Greatest Severity" range according to the Offense Severity Scale (Appendix A) will be housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived. F Sex Offender. A male or female inmate whose behavior in the current term of confinement or prior history includes one or more of the following elements will be housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived. A conviction is not required for application of this PSF if the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR), or other official documentation, clearly indicates the following behavior occurred in the current term of confinement or prior criminal history. If the case was dismissed or nolle prosequi, application of this PSF cannot be entered. However, in the case where an inmate was charged with an offense that included one of the following elements, but as a result of a plea bargain was not convicted, application of this PSF should be entered. Example: According to the PSR, the inmate was specifically described as being involved in a Sexual Assault but pled guilty to Simple Assault. Based on the documented behavior, application of this PSF should be entered: (1) Engaging in sexual contact with another person without obtaining permission to do so (forcible rape, sexual assault or sexual battery); (2) Possession, distribution or mailing of child pornography or related paraphernalia; (3) Any sexual contact with a minor or other person physically or mentally incapable of granting consent (indecent liberties with a minor, statutory rape, sexual abuse of the mentally ill, rape by administering a drug or substance); (4) Any sexual act or contact not identified above that is aggressive or abusive in nature (e.g., rape by instrument, encouraging use of a minor for prostitution purposes, incest, etc.). Examples may be documented by state or Bureau of Prisons’ incident reports, clear NCIC entries, or other official documentation; (5) Attempts are to be treated as if the sexual act or contact was completed; and/or, (6) Any offense referenced in the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Program Statement. > The Sex Offender PSF floors placement at low security and, like Serious Telephone Abuse, can be applied from what the PSR describes even without a conviction on that specific charge, for instance, if the PSR says the conduct was sexual assault but the plea was to a lesser offense. This is one of the clearest reasons to scrutinize your PSR before sentencing: language in it can attach a PSF that follows you the whole way through, affecting placement and treatment inside. G Threat to Government Officials. A male or female inmate classified with a Central Inmate Monitoring assignment of Threat to Government Official will be housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived. H Deportable Alien. A male or female inmate who is not a citizen of the United States. All long-term detainees will have this PSF applied. When applied, the inmate or the long-term detainee shall be housed in at least a Low security level institution. The PSF shall not be applied, or shall be removed when the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) have determined that deportation proceedings are unwarranted or there is a finding not to deport at the completion of deportation proceedings. The Institution Hearing Program CMA of NO IHP or IHP CMP ND will then be applied. Additionally, the PSF shall not be applied if the inmate has been naturalized as a United States citizen. I Sentence Length. A male inmate with more than ten years remaining to serve will be housed in at least a Low security level institution unless the PSF has been waived. A male inmate with more than 20 years remaining to serve will be housed in at least a Medium security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived. A male inmate with more than 30 years remaining to serve (including non-parolable LIFE sentences) will be housed in a High security level institution unless the PSF has been waived. > Sentence length alone can raise your floor. For men: more than 10 years left to serve keeps you out of a camp (minimum low), more than 20 years pushes to at least medium, more than 30 years (or life) puts you in high. So a long sentence overrides an otherwise clean score. This is why the length of the term, not just the nature of the crime, shapes where someone goes. K Violent Behavior. A female inmate whose current term of confinement or history involves two convictions (or findings of commission of a prohibited act by the DHO) for serious incidents of violence within the last five years will be assigned to at least a Low security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived. L Serious Escape. A female inmate who has been involved in a serious escape within the last ten years, including the current term of confinement, will be assigned to the Carswell Administrative Unit, unless the PSF has been waived. A male inmate who has escaped from a secure facility (prior or instant offense) with or without the threat of violence or who escapes from an open institution or program with a threat of violence will be housed in at least a Medium security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived. M Prison Disturbance. A male or female inmate who was involved in a serious incident of violence within the institution and was found guilty of the prohibited act(s) of Engaging, Encouraging a Riot, or acting in furtherance of such as described in, but not limited to institution disciplinary codes such as 103, 105, 106, 107, 212, 213 or 218. Such a finding must be in conjunction with a period of simultaneous institution disruptions. Males will be housed in at least a HIGH security level institution and females will be assigned to the Carswell Administrative Unit, unless the PSF has been waived. N Juvenile Violence. A male or female offender, currently of juvenile age, who has any documented single instance of violent behavior, past or present, which resulted in a conviction, a delinquency adjudication, or finding of guilt. Violence is defined as aggressive behavior causing serious bodily harm or death or aggressive or intimidating behavior likely to cause serious bodily harm or death (e.g., aggravated assault, intimidation involving a weapon, or arson). O Serious Telephone Abuse. A male or female inmate who utilizes the telephone to further criminal activities or promote illicit organizations and who meets the criteria outlined below, must be assigned a PSF for Serious Telephone Abuse. A conviction is not required for the PSF if the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) or other official documentation clearly indicates that the above behavior occurred or was attempted. An inmate who meets this criteria must be housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless the PSF is waived. The PSF should be entered if any one of the following criteria applies. > One white-collar folks should notice: using phones to run significant fraud can trigger the Serious Telephone Abuse factor, which floors you at low and can get your phone privileges restricted inside. It doesn't require a conviction on that point, if the PSR describes the conduct, it can be applied. Fraud cases that leaned on phones or communications are exactly the profile here. Another reason the PSR matters so much. (1) PSR or comparable documentation reveals the inmate was involved in criminal activity facilitated by the telephone who: meets the definition of a leader/organizer or primary motivator; or utilized the telephone to communicate threats of bodily injury, death, assaults, or homicides; or utilized the telephone to conduct significant fraudulent activity (actual or attempted) in an institution; or leader/organizer who utilized the telephone to conduct significant fraudulent activity (actual or attempted) in the community; or, arranged narcotic/alcohol introductions while confined in an institution. (2) Federal law enforcement officials or a U.S. Attorney’s Office notifies the Bureau of Prisons of a significant concern and need to monitor an inmate’s telephone calls; (3) The inmate has been found guilty of a 100 or 200 level offense code for telephone abuse. NOTE: 200 level offense codes will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. (4) A Bureau of Prisons official has reasonable suspicion and/or documented intelligence supporting telephone abuse. NOTE: Any inmate who is assigned the Serious Telephone Abuse PSF may be subject to telephone restriction in accordance with the Telephone Regulations for Inmates Program Statement. Source: PS 5100.08 (5/6/2026), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5100\_008\_cn-3.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5100_008_cn-3.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5200-06-management-of-inmates-with-disabilities # Management of Inmates With Disabilities PS 5200.06 (11/22/2019) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5200_06.pdf) The disability policy. If a loved one going in has a mobility, hearing, vision, learning, or cognitive disability, accommodations are a right with a process behind them, not a favor staff can grant or withhold. This covers what counts as a disability (broader than most people assume), how accommodations get requested (in writing, always), the protections around assistive devices, and the escalation path when the answer is no, which runs through [the grievance system](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program) and beyond. SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) To ensure the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) properly identifies, tracks, and provides services to inmates with disabilities. a. Program Objectives. Expected results of this program are: ■ Institutions ensure inmates with disabilities have appropriate access to programs, services and accommodations. ■ Reentry planning includes referral to accommodation services and accessible housing. ■ Sufficient resources will be allocated to deliver appropriate services to inmates with disabilities. ■ Staff will be provided training in order to work with inmates with disabilities. > This is the disability-accommodation policy. If someone going in has a disability, physical, sensory, cognitive, learning, the prison is required to identify it, track it, and provide reasonable accommodations so they can access programs and housing. Families of someone with a disability should know this framework exists and that accommodations are a right, not a favor. b. Summary of Changes Policy Rescinded P5200.05 Management of Inmates With Disabilities (10/27/17) The following changes have been incorporated into the policy: The requirements of section 301 of the First Step Act, codified at 18 § USC 3582 for dyslexia screening. b. Institution Supplement. None required. Should local facilities make any changes outside changes required in national policy or establish any additional local procedures to implement national policy, the local Union may invoke to negotiate procedures or appropriate arrangements. SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS (EXCERPT) Accommodation: A change or adjustment to practice, program, or facility that allows an inmate with disabilities to have appropriate access. Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs): An inmate’s abilities to perform actions that involve the management of basic bodily functions (ADL) or activities that permit independent living (IADL). For example, an inmate with an impairment to an ADL may have difficulty eating; an inmate with an impairment to an IADL may be able to physically eat, but could not plan the meal or follow the recipe. Assistive Technology: Adaptive or rehabilitative devices used by inmates with disabilities. Examples include hearing aids, communication devices, wheelchairs, walkers and text magnifiers. > In plain terms: an 'accommodation' is any adjustment that lets a person with a disability participate, and 'assistive technology' covers the actual devices, hearing aids, wheelchairs, walkers, communication devices. Disability here is broad: visual, hearing, speech, mobility, intellectual, and learning disabilities all count. So this isn't just wheelchairs; it includes things like dyslexia and other learning disorders. Disability: An impairment that substantially limits an individual from performing major life activities. Disabilities may be physical and/or cognitive, and many individuals have more than one disability or a single disability that impacts more than one life activity. Types of disabilities include but are not limited to visual, hearing, speech, mobility, educational, intellectual, and cognitive. Refer to Appendix A for Health Services Physical/Sensory guidance. Prosthesis: An artificial limb or body part. SECTION 10: ACCOMMODATIONS AND PROGRAM ACCESS (EXCERPT) Staff members may provide accommodations to inmates with obvious disabilities without a formal inmate request (e.g., missing limb, documented history of hearing loss or blindness, etc.). Inmates also may request an accommodation or a modification to accommodations already provided by making an Inmate Request to Staff (BP-A0148). As described below, the institution will evaluate the request and make a final determination on the accommodation to be provided. > Two ways accommodations happen: staff should provide them automatically for obvious disabilities, and for anything else the inmate asks by filing a simple Inmate Request to Staff (the 'cop-out,' form BP-A0148). If someone inside needs an accommodation and isn't getting it, the concrete first step is filing that request in writing. Don't wait and hope; put it on paper. Inmates with disabilities are not denied access to programs and services solely based on the presence or suspected presence of a disability. When a disability creates barriers for an inmate’s program participation, Bureau staff will modify the program to the extent possible to accommodate the individual while maintaining program integrity, or provide an appropriate accommodation to the inmate unless an undue burden exists. > You can't be shut out of a program just because you have a disability. If the disability makes a program hard to access, staff are supposed to modify it or provide an accommodation, unless doing so is a genuine 'undue burden.' This matters for programs tied to release, like RDAP or education, that affect time and reentry. Being disabled shouldn't cost someone access to programming that shortens their sentence. Accommodation needs vary from person to person, and therefore must be individualized. If an accommodation is needed, it will be provided by the department that verified the disability. When a determination is made that an inmate’s needs go outside the scope of the department, different professions must work collaboratively to meet the needs of the inmate. For particularly complex cases, accommodations are determined by a team (known as a local disabilities committee), comprised of a Psychologist, medical provider, an educator, Recreation Specialist, Unit Manager, Reentry Affairs Coordinator, and Captain. This team is led by the Associate Warden, Programs, whose responsibility is to serve as the local coordinator on disabilities. Legal staff are consulted as needed. A Social Worker is part of the team if the position is filled. The accommodation provided does not have to be the accommodation requested by the inmate. Multiple options can be considered. Appropriate accommodations should promote improvement to ADLs and IADLs to the extent possible. Wardens should request assistance from the Regional Disabilities Coordinator if needed in evaluating accommodation requests. The Regional Disabilities Coordinator will consult with the Office of General Counsel and the Women and Special Populations Branch as needed. In deciding whether to grant an accommodation, institutions may consider whether the program or activity would be fundamentally altered, or whether it would result in undue financial or administrative burden. Before denying a request for accommodation on this basis, the appropriate legal office should be consulted. > Two things to set expectations. First, you get an effective accommodation, not necessarily the exact one you asked for, they can offer an alternative that works. Second, they can deny a request only if it would fundamentally change the program or be a real burden, and they're supposed to consult legal before denying on that basis. So 'no' is allowed, but it's supposed to be a considered, documented decision, not a brush-off. Accommodations may include, but are not limited to, accessibility of all relevant areas of the compound, assistive devices or technologies, specialized approaches to learning, interpreters, additional time to complete tasks, modified materials (e.g. large print), enhanced reentry planning, and inmate companions. Information about accommodations authorized for a particular inmate is documented by the department approving them, and a notification is sent to the Unit Team. > Concrete examples of what accommodations can look like: interpreters, large-print materials, extra time on tasks, accessible routes around the compound, learning supports for disabilities like dyslexia, and even 'inmate companions,' peers assigned to help. If you're advocating for a loved one, this list is useful ammunition; these are all things the policy explicitly contemplates. Education staff with knowledge of learning disabilities will determine the appropriate use of audio technology for program course materials with an understanding of dyslexia. Some inmates with physical or mobility impairments may require the use of assistive technologies (e.g., hearing aids, wheelchairs, prostheses). Under certain circumstances, inmates may not need to use these devices all of the time. Therefore, staff are reminded that failure to use these devices by the inmate is not a disciplinary infraction or an indicator the device is not needed. The Clinical Director or appropriate medical provider should be consulted prior to removing a device from an inmate’s possession, unless exigent circumstances exist. If the device is to be removed, an alternative accommodation should be provided if appropriate. > Important protection: not using an assistive device all the time is not a rule violation, and staff aren't supposed to take a device (wheelchair, hearing aid, prosthesis) without a medical provider signing off first. Sometimes people don't need a device every minute, and that can't be twisted into 'you don't really need it.' If a device is being threatened or removed, medical has to be involved. Peer support, such as inmate companions, are considered at institutions housing inmates with disabilities. SECTION 13: REENTRY NEEDS (EXCERPT) The Residential Reentry Management Branch must be notified in the referral packet of any releasing inmate with a SENTRY CMA disabilities assignment. With the exception of immediate releases, Unit Team notifies the Social Worker or Reentry Affairs Coordinator when they are working on release plans for inmates with disabilities releasing directly to the community. Institution Social Workers and Reentry Affairs Coordinators locate resources, specialized services, and direct placements in the community serving individuals with disabilities, and should be consulted. Reentry Affairs Coordinators collaborate with the department identifying the disability and assist in locating appropriate volunteers or mentors for this population. > Reentry gets extra attention for people with disabilities. Before release, the social worker and reentry coordinator are supposed to line up community resources, accessible placements, and specialized services. So the accommodation obligation doesn't just end at the gate; it's supposed to feed into a workable release plan. If someone with a disability is nearing release, the reentry coordinator is the person to engage early. The Women and Special Populations Branch can also be contacted to provide guidance and resources for reentry needs of inmates with disabilities. SECTION 14: ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES (EXCERPT) Inmates may use the procedures of the Program Statement Administrative Remedy Program concerning any issues relating to this policy. After receiving a response to a BP-11, inmates alleging violations of the Rehabilitation Act must also use additional procedures required by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in order to exhaust available administrative remedies on these issues. The DOJ procedures are found at 28 C.F.R. § 39.170. > If accommodations are denied or ignored, there's a path to fight it. First run the normal grievance ladder (BP-9, BP-10, BP-11). Then, for a claimed violation of the Rehabilitation Act (the federal disability law), there's an extra step: a complaint to the Bureau's EEO Office at Central Office, attaching your grievance paperwork. This is how you 'exhaust remedies' on a disability claim, which can matter if it ever goes further. Not legal advice, but if a disability-rights issue is serious, this paper trail is the foundation, and a lawyer who does prisoner or disability rights work would want to see it. The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Officer, Central Office, has been designated by DOJ and Bureau as the “Responsible Official” or “Official” as used in these regulations. Inmates should file complaints with the EEO Officer, Central Office. All complaints should be sent to the Bureau’s EEO Office, and include copies of the administrative remedies and responses received. (i.e., BP-9, BP-10, and BP-11). Any costs incurred from the administrative process will be paid from the budget of the institution where the claim arose. Source: PS 5200.06 (11/22/2019), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5200\_06.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5200_06.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5217-02-special-management-units # Special Management Units PS 5217.02 (8/9/2016) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5217_02.pdf) Fair warning: this one is outside my firsthand lane. I did camp and low-security time; the Special Management Unit is the deep end of the system and I never lived it. It's annotated here because families hear the term and imagine either nothing or the worst. What it actually is: a roughly year-long, tightly restricted program, mostly for gang-tied or seriously disruptive inmates, with real process on the way in and a defined ladder out. For most first-time nonviolent cases it will never come up. SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) To provide guidance and procedures for operating Special Management Units (SMU). Some inmates present unique security and management concerns. Accordingly, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) designates inmates to SMUs, where enhanced management is necessary to ensure the safety, security, or orderly operation of Bureau facilities, or protection of the public. > Straight up: this is outside my lane. I did camp and low-security time; a Special Management Unit is a highly restrictive program at the deep end of the system, and I never lived it. So take this as a plain read of the policy, not firsthand. What it is: the SMU is a roughly year-long, tightly controlled program for inmates the Bureau considers serious management problems, usually tied to gang activity or major disciplinary history. The BOP calls it 'non-punitive,' meaning technically it's a management tool, not a punishment, though the conditions are heavy. For most first-time nonviolent people, this will never come up. It's here so families understand what it is if they ever hear the term. SMU designation is non-punitive, and may be appropriate for any inmate meeting the referral criteria in Section 2 below. Conditions of confinement for SMU inmates are more restrictive than for general population inmates, and are described in Section 5. Inmates are expected to complete the SMU program in approximately 12 months, at which time they may be redesignated to a general population or to another appropriate facility. a. Summary of Changes Policy Rescinded P5217.01 Special Management Units (11/19/08) ■ Purpose and Scope reflects that inmates are expected to complete the SMU program in approximately 12 months. ■ Program Objectives added that inmates who successfully progress through the SMU program will be redesignated to a general population or another appropriate facility. ■ The referral criteria now reflect that inmates must have at least 24 months left on their sentence. ■ Referral procedures reflect that when considering designation criteria, inmates from lower security institutions will be considered for designation to a higher security facility prior to recommending SMU placement. The referring institution will take into consideration any current medical assessment/treatment prior to recommending the referral. ■ The referral packet consists of a completed Request for Transfer/Application of Management Variable (EMS-A409), copies of pertinent Special Investigative Supervisor reports and incident reports, a psychological/medical evaluation, and a cover memorandum to the Warden summarizing the rationale for referral for SMU designation. > There's a check built in: before sending someone from a lower-security spot to an SMU, staff are supposed to consider just moving them to a higher-security prison first. So the SMU is meant to be a last resort for management, not the first lever pulled. If a regular transfer to a tougher facility would solve it, that's supposed to come first. SECTION 2: REFERRAL CRITERIA (EXCERPT) Designation to a SMU may be considered for any sentenced inmate whose interaction requires greater management to ensure the safety, security, or orderly operation of Bureau facilities, or protection of the public, because the inmate meets any of the following criteria: > Who ends up here: mostly people tied to gang or 'disruptive group' activity, or with a record of serious institutional misconduct, riots, group violence, that kind of thing. It's not for ordinary rule-breaking. And you need at least 24 months left to serve, since the program itself runs about a year. This is the far end of the disciplinary world, not something that flows from a typical shot or a bad day. ■ Participated in disruptive geographical group/gang-related activity. ■ Had a leadership role in disruptive geographical group/gang-related activity. ■ Has a history of serious or disruptive disciplinary infractions. ■ Committed any 100-level prohibited act, according to 28 CFR part 541, after being classified as a member of a Disruptive Group pursuant to 28 CFR part 524. ■ Participated in, organized, or facilitated any group misconduct that adversely affected the orderly operation of a correctional facility. ■ Otherwise participated in or was associated with activity such that greater management of the inmate’s interaction with other persons is necessary to ensure the safety, security, or orderly operation of Bureau facilities, or protection of the public. The inmate must have at least 24 months left on his/her sentence. SECTION 3: REFERRAL PROCEDURES (EXCERPT) b. Hearing. If the Regional Director determines that sufficient evidence exists to convene a hearing, a copy of the referral is sent to the Psychology Services Branch. Psychology Services reviews the inmate’s mental health record to determine if there are mental health concerns that would preclude an inmate from being placed in a SMU. Please see the Program Statement Treatment and Care of Inmates with Mental Illness, when considering to place inmates with a serious mental health illness in the SMU. If there is no evidence to preclude a hearing, the Regional Director appoints a Hearing Administrator to conduct a hearing into whether the inmate meets the criteria for SMU designation. The Hearing Administrator will be trained and certified as a Discipline Hearing Officer, will be an impartial decision-maker, and will not be personally involved as a witness or victim in any relevant disciplinary action involving that inmate. > You don't get thrown into an SMU without process. There's a hearing before a neutral officer (one not involved in your case), you get at least 24 hours' notice in writing, and a staff member is assigned to help you gather documents and witness statements. If someone can't read or doesn't speak English, staff have to read the notice or arrange translation. So there are real procedural protections here, even though the reasons behind the referral can be partly withheld for security. The Warden is notified of the Regional Director’s decision to conduct a hearing before the inmate is provided pre-hearing notice. The inmate’s security needs will be assessed and staff made aware of any additional security precautions. (1) Pre-Hearing Notice. The Hearing Administrator completes form BP-A0935, Notice to Inmate: Hearing Referral for Designation to a Special Management Unit, and sends it to the inmate’s current institution. Unit team staff provide the inmate with a copy of the Notice at least 24 hours before the hearing, and document delivery to the inmate. If the inmate is illiterate, the delivering staff member will read the notice verbatim. If the inmate does not speak English, the Unit Team staff make arrangements to provide translation. The Notice will: ■ Advise the inmate of the date and time of the hearing. ■ Advise the inmate of the opportunity to appear at the hearing. ■ Provide a sufficiently detailed explanation of the reasons for the referral. Such explanation will not include information that would jeopardize the safety, security, or orderly operation of correctional facilities, or protection of the public. ■ Inform the inmate that a non-probationary staff member will be available to help him/her compile documentary evidence and written witness statements to present at the hearing. The assisting staff member’s responsibility in this role is limited to assisting the inmate in obtaining copies of documents needed, for example, from his/her central file or other reasonably available source(s), or a written statement(s) from other reasonably available inmates or staff. Inmate Appearance and Evidence. The inmate has the opportunity to appear at the hearing, make an oral statement, and present documentary evidence and written witness statements, except where contrary to the safety, security, or orderly operation of Bureau facilities, or protection of the public. The Hearing Administrator, after consultation with staff at the facility where the inmate is housed, will determine whether the inmate appears at the hearing via videoconference, telephone conference, or in person. The Warden or designee determines the location of the hearing. > You can show up to your own hearing, speak, and put on evidence. It might be by video or phone rather than in person, but you get a voice. This matters because an SMU designation can shape years of someone's time, so the chance to contest it is meaningful. d. Post-Decision Notice and Appeal. The inmate’s copy of the completed Report is sent to the referring Warden, who ensures delivery to the inmate. The Report advises the inmate of the opportunity to appeal the decision and the Hearing Administrator’s findings through the Administrative Remedy Program, directly to the Office of General Counsel. > You can appeal an SMU designation, and notably it goes straight to the top (the Office of General Counsel), skipping the usual lower rungs. But here's the hard part for families: appealing does NOT stop the transfer. They move the person to the SMU first, and the appeal plays out while they're already there. So the fight happens after the fact, not before. An inmate’s appeal of the decision or the Hearing Administrator’s findings does not delay designation and transfer to a SMU. Designation and transfer are effected; the inmate may proceed with the appeal while housed in the SMU. e. Mental Health Removal. An inmate in SMU may be removed if it becomes clear the inmate’s mental health does not reasonably allow him/her to complete the program. The recommendation is forwarded to the Administrator, Psychology Services Branch, Central Office. If approved, the Psychology Administrator notifies the Warden (refer to the Program Statement Treatment and Care of Inmates With Mental Illness). > If someone's mental health means they genuinely can't handle or complete the program, there's a path to pull them out, decided at the Central Office level by Psychology Services. A copy of every referral also gets screened by Psychology up front to catch serious mental illness before placement. It's an imperfect safeguard, but the policy does recognize that this environment isn't appropriate for everyone. SECTION 5: CONDITIONS OF CONFINEMENT (EXCERPT) (5) Personal Hygiene. Inmates have access to a washbasin and toilet. Inmates receive necessary personal hygiene items. Inmates have the opportunity to shower and shave at least three times per week. Inmates have access to necessary hair care services. (6) Meals. Inmates receive nutritionally adequate meals and may be required to eat all meals in their living quarters. (7) Recreation. Inmates have the opportunity to exercise outside their individual quarters for at least five hours per week, ordinarily in one-hour periods on different days. > The daily reality, so families aren't left imagining the worst or fooling themselves: it's restrictive. Out-of-cell exercise is a minimum of five hours a week (roughly an hour a day, not every day), showers at least three times a week, and meals are often eaten in the cell. This is a locked-down existence. It's more structured than the SHU (solitary) because it's a program with an endpoint, but it's a long way from general population life. The Warden may deny these exercise periods for up to one week at a time if it is determined that an inmate’s recreation itself jeopardizes the safety, security, or orderly operation of the institution. However, recreation conditions specified here may not otherwise be limited, even as part of a disciplinary sanction imposed under 28 CFR part 541. (8) Personal Property. Inmates may have reasonable amounts of personal property. Personal property may be limited for reasons of fire safety, sanitation, or available space. (9) Commissary. Inmates have access to the commissary, as determined by the Warden. (10) Visits. Inmates may receive visitors in accordance with 28 CFR part 540. Inmates may be provided non-contact visits, through the use of videoconferencing or other technology. (11) Correspondence and Telephone Use. Inmates may correspond with persons in the community and use the telephone in accordance with 28 CFR part 540 and this Program Statement. However, to deter and detect continued involvement in disruptive behavior, correspondence and telephone use are subject to monitoring and analysis for intelligence purposes. Special mail and unmonitored attorney telephone calls are handled in accordance with 28 CFR part 540. > Contact with the outside is tight and heavily watched. Phone access starts at a minimum of just two calls a month and grows as the person advances through the program. Mail and calls are monitored and analyzed for intelligence, more scrutiny than normal. The one thing that stays protected: legal mail and attorney calls keep their usual confidentiality. So a family should expect sparse phone contact early on, and that it improves with good progress. Telephone calls are live-monitored where feasible. If live monitoring is not feasible, calls are normally reviewed within 24 hours. If the call is in a language other than English, it is submitted for translation. The translated call summary is analyzed for intelligence purposes. Inmates may use the telephone a minimum of two completed calls per month, unless telephone restrictions have been imposed pursuant to 28 CFR part 541, and may be increased as they progress through the levels of the program. Correspondence that is prepared in a language other than English will either be directly translated or submitted to the SIS office for translation. All correspondence is analyzed for intelligence purposes before mailing out of the institution and before being delivered to the inmate. SECTION 6: PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND REVIEWS (EXCERPT) SMUs consist of three program levels, differentiated by the conditions of confinement and expected time frames for completion, as described below. Completion of all levels is expected within 9 to 13 months. > The program is a three-level ladder, and conditions loosen as you climb. Level One (the most locked-down, 6 to 8 months) is where you start, then Two (2 to 3 months), then Three (1 to 2 months) with the most freedom, before being sent back to a general-population prison. Total is usually 9 to 13 months. The whole point is progression: clear conduct and participation move you up and out. It's designed to end, not to be indefinite, which is the key thing to hold onto if a loved one is facing it. Level Expected Level Completion Time SMU Reviews One 6-8 Months Initially within 28 days, no less than every 90 days Two 2-3 Months No less than every 90 days Three 1-2 Months Inmates currently housed in the SMU as of August 9, 2016, or prior to the effective date of this policy will be individually assessed using form BP-A0949, Special Management Review Report, to determine their level in the SMU Program according to the provisions of this Program Statement. The inmate’s ability to maintain clear conduct, successful participation in SMU programming, and efforts at positive interaction with staff and other inmates will be considered in making these assessments. For inmates currently housed in the SMU as of August 9, 2016, or prior to the effective date of this policy, their time in the SMU may be more than 24 consecutive months depending on their level in the SMU program. a. Level One Inmate Interaction. At this level, interaction between inmates is minimal (for example, shower, recreation, programming). Inmates will normally be restricted to their assigned cells. Admission and Orientation. Inmates will participate in an institution and unit admission and orientation (A&O) program, as outlined in the Program Statement Admission and Orientation Program. The goal of the SMU A&O program is to provide inmates with information regarding institution operations, program availability, and the requirements for successful progression through each of the three levels of the program. A&O may be conducted through in-cell programming, using radio programs or other available technology. Programming. Initial programming assessment will occur within the first 28 days of an inmate’s arrival at the SMU. Institution and SMU staff interact with each inmate on an individual basis to: ■ Assess the inmate’s program and counseling needs. ■ Discuss SMU program objectives/expectations. ■ Establish a set of program goals based on the inmate’s individual needs and the programming available within the unit. ■ Communicate requirements of the SMU program, including the expectations the inmate must meet before he/she will be considered for a general population institution. > It isn't just warehousing. There's programming, GED and English classes, cognitive and counseling work aimed at 'criminal thinking' and coping skills, and each person gets goals they have to meet to advance. Getting out of the SMU and back to normal prison depends on doing the work and staying clean. So the path forward is concrete: meet the expectations, progress through the levels. For someone facing this, that structure is the thing to focus on. Inmates will continue their involvement in GED or ESL, either individually or in a classroom setting. Initially during this level, inmates may be involved in programs on a self-study basis. Property. Inmates will have limited personal property, as determined by the Warden through the Institution Supplement. Source: PS 5217.02 (8/9/2016), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5217\_02.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5217_02.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5260-01-management-of-inmates-with-gender-dysphoria # Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria PS 5260.01 (2/19/2026) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5260_001.pdf) This one is different from most program statements: it's actively being fought over in court. The cover memo attached to the policy admits that a federal judge has ordered the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) to keep doing the opposite of what large parts of this policy say. So read the policy and the memo together. Nothing here is legal advice, I'm not a lawyer, and this is medical and mental-health territory that's outside my own lane as a camp/low guy. If this affects someone you love, get a lawyer who does BOP and civil-rights work, and check the current status of Kingdom v. Trump, because a court order can change what actually happens on the ground overnight. OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL MEMORANDUM (EXCERPT) SUBJECT: New Policy on Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria and Ongoing Obligations under the Preliminary Injunction Issued in Kingdom, et al., v. Trump, et al., 25-cv-691 (D.D.C.) Today the Director signed a new policy entitled Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria. However, BOP remains obligated to comply with the preliminary injunction issued on June 3, 2025, by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in Kingdom v. Trump et al., 25-cv-691, which requires BOP to provide hormones and social accommodations to inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria under the policy that existed before Executive Order 14168, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, issued on January 20, 2025. The policy and practice regarding hormones and social accommodations that was in effect immediately prior to January 20, 2025, is outlined in the attached guidance memo issued by the Reentry Services Division, Health Services Division, Correctional Programs Division and the Administration Division on July 16, 2025. > Read this first, before anything else in the document. The BOP just signed a new policy that says it won't provide hormones or social accommodations and will taper people off. But this same cover memo admits a federal court has ordered them, as of June 3, 2025, to keep doing exactly that under the OLD rules. So the new policy and a court order point in opposite directions. When a policy and an injunction conflict, the injunction controls while it's in force. The BOP's own lawyer is telling every warden this in writing. Practically: what's supposed to happen and what a given facility actually does may not match, and it can shift with the next court ruling. Please ensure all staff are reminded of these ongoing obligations under the preliminary injunction issued in Kingdom v. Trump. Thank you for your attention and cooperation. > The General Counsel is directly telling every warden: remind your staff they still have to follow the old rules because of the court order. If someone inside is being told 'new policy, hormones are gone,' this line is the paper that says staff were instructed otherwise. Worth knowing exists if you're documenting a problem. SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) To establish professional guidelines for the mental health evaluation and treatment of inmates meeting the diagnostic criteria for Gender Dysphoria (GD) to assist their progress toward recovery, while reducing or eliminating the frequency and severity of symptoms and associated negative outcomes. > The framing here treats gender dysphoria as a condition to move away from ('recovery,' 'eliminating symptoms'), and the whole policy is built around mental-health treatment rather than the medical transition care the prior policy allowed. Notice what's not here: no mention of hormones or accommodations as treatment. That's the shift the document is making. a. Program Objectives. Expected results of this program are: To ensure inmates diagnosed with GD receive timely, appropriate mental health services and individualized treatment programming, as clinically indicated. Treatment shall target psychological distress/dysphoria as well as any co-occurring mental health disorders and be tailored to the unique needs of the inmate. To allocate sufficient staff and resources to deliver appropriate services to such inmates. To enhance staff’s understanding of the mental health issues associated with individuals diagnosed with GD and the appropriate treatment that accounts for the evolving scientific understanding. b. Institution Supplement. None required. SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS (EXCERPT) Gender Dysphoria (GD): a mental health diagnosis currently defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5 TR), or its replacement. It is a psychological disorder caused by clinically significant distress or impairment due to the perceived discrepancy between a person’s expressed/experienced gender identity and his or her biological sex. Gender Identity: a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex. > Heads up: this definition is written like an argument, not a neutral dictionary entry. Most program statement definitions just tell you what a term means. This one takes a position. I'm pointing that out so you read the rest of the document knowing the drafters had a point of view baked in from the start. The DSM (the actual psychiatric manual it cites) does not define the term this way. Multidisciplinary Review Team (MRT): a multidisciplinary group of staff representing different disciplines, which has the responsibility for ensuring access to necessary assessment, treatment, continuity of care, and services to inmates in accordance with their identified mental health needs, and which collaboratively develops, implements, reviews, and revises the treatment plan. Additionally, institutions may request a review by the MRT of individual inmates based on treatment concerns or clinical consultation needs. The MRT is coordinated by the Psychology Services Branch (PSB), which is responsible for scheduling meetings, maintaining records, and documenting official notes. The MRT will consist of the following members (or their designee): (1) Psychology Services Branch (PSB) Administrator; (2) PSB, Chief of Mental Health; (3) Health Services Division (HSD) Chief Psychiatrist; (4) HSD Chief of Health Programs; (5) HSD Chief Pharmacist; (6) HSD Chief Social Worker; and (7) Women and Special Populations Branch (WASP) Administrator. > The MRT is a national committee, not people at your facility. They're the ones who sign off on decisions like tapering someone off hormones. It's central-office staff in Washington, which means these calls get made way above the level of the psychologist you'd actually talk to inside. Sex Trait Modification Surgeries: surgical procedures that seek to modify the person’s physical characteristics to appear to align with the person’s “gender identity” rather than the person’s sex. Examples of these surgeries include vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, orchiectomy, vulvoplasty, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, mastectomy, metoidioplasty, chest reconstruction, breast augmentation, hair removal, facial feminization surgery, and voice modification. These surgeries are also called “cross-sex,” “sex reassignment,” or “sex rejection” surgeries. Social Accommodations: items, including cosmetics and clothing, used to alter the person’s appearance to align with the person’s “gender identity.” Examples of “social accommodations” include buttock padding, breast padding, binders, undergarments, makeup, and wigs. > 'Social accommodations' is the policy's term for things like binders, makeup, and wigs. Remember this term, because later the policy says these get taken away, and that's one of the exact things the court injunction says the BOP still has to provide. The scare quotes around 'gender identity' throughout are the drafters' choice, not standard BOP style. SECTION 3: STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES (EXCERPT) c. Wardens Wardens will establish a local multi-disciplinary approach for the management of inmates diagnosed with GD. The Chief Psychologist is the primary point of contact in the institution for issues related to this population and will consult, as needed, with the Executive Team, Captain, Clinical Director, Unit Manager, or other individuals, as appropriate. Institutions will consult with the Region, Central Office, and the MRT as necessary to ensure inmates diagnosed with GD receive clinically necessary mental health programming and medical services. > At the facility level, the person to go to is the Chief Psychologist. If you're a family member trying to figure out who's handling a loved one's care, this is the title that owns it inside the walls. SECTION 4: SCREENING AND EVALUATION (EXCERPT) a. Screening Diagnostic screening and evaluation of GD can occur at any time throughout an inmate’s incarceration. All diagnostic evaluations are documented in the electronic health record as a Diagnostic and Care Level Formulation note. If primary care medical providers are diagnosing GD, the diagnosis will be documented in the electronic health record as a Clinical Encounter note. If an inmate reports or presents a documented history of GD before incarceration, Psychology staff will request the inmate to complete a BP-A0171 Record of Information Release form to authorize the Bureau to obtain the inmate’s prior mental health records from community providers who diagnosed or treated the inmate. Similarly, Health Services staff will request completion of a BP-A0621, Authorization for Release of Medical Information form, to obtain prior medical records relevant to the inmate’s care. Signed documents will be added to the electronic health record. These signed documents will be added to the electronic health record and Psychology staff will enter as a General Administrative Note. If the inmate refuses to sign the records release form, this refusal will also be documented in the electronic health record as a General Administrative Note. > If someone was diagnosed or treated on the outside before coming in, the BOP wants a signed release (form BP-A0171 for mental health, BP-A0621 for medical) so they can pull those old records. Practical takeaway: having your outside diagnosis and treatment history documented and gettable matters, because the policy leans hard on what's in the paper trail. Refusing to sign is allowed but gets logged. As appropriate, a diagnosis of GD will be made by a mental health clinician or primary care medical provider. The diagnosis will be added to the electronic health record. At a minimum, the inmate will be classified and maintained as a Mental Health Care Level 2. > A GD diagnosis automatically bumps you to at least Mental Health Care Level 2. Care Level is the BOP's system for how much mental-health attention you're flagged to need. Level 2 means routine ongoing mental-health care, not the lowest tier. This classification can affect which facility you can be housed at. SECTION 5: TREATMENT (EXCERPT) Executive Order 14,168, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, 90 Fed. Reg. 8,615 (Jan. 30, 2025), prohibits the Bureau from expending federal funds for “any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex” “to the extent consistent with applicable law.” Id. at 8,617-18. The Bureau will comply with this Executive Order unless compliance with the Executive Order is prohibited by a court injunction or court order. Though Executive Order 14,168 supports this policy, the Bureau also adopts this policy independently of Executive Order 14,168. > Two things packed in here. First: the BOP admits again that a court order overrides this, which is the Kingdom injunction from the cover memo. Second, that last sentence ('adopts this policy independently') is lawyer-armor: they're saying even if the executive order gets struck down, they'd keep this policy anyway. That's written to survive the executive order being challenged in court. a. Individualized Treatment Plan If treatment for GD is likely to be necessary based on the results of the foregoing evaluation, the following treatment protocol should be followed: All clinicians will review available documentation in combination with clinical interview(s) to determine the appropriate treatments addressing all identified medical and psychiatric concerns. Because treatment is individualized, treatment plans are tailored to the specific clinical needs of the inmate. In general, identified medical and psychiatric comorbidities should be addressed before treatment for GD proceeds. As appropriate, medical and psychiatric comorbidities should be addressed through psychotherapy, psychotropic medication, or other appropriate medically accepted interventions. When comorbidities are addressed before GD, further treatment for GD may be necessary and may proceed once these medical and psychiatric comorbidities are resolved or ruled out as the potential cause of GD. > The policy says: treat other conditions first (anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc.), on the theory that they might be causing the dysphoria. Critics would read this as a built-in way to defer or avoid GD treatment indefinitely by always pointing at something else to treat first. Either way, the effect is that GD-specific treatment comes last in line. b. Availability of Sex Trait Modification Surgeries to Address Gender Dysphoria In instances when an inmate is diagnosed with GD, the Bureau will not provide sex trait modification surgeries to address GD and the inmate will not receive sex trait modification surgeries to address GD. > No surgeries for gender dysphoria. If someone already had surgery before coming in, they'll still get treated for complications from it. This surgery ban is the part least affected by the court fight; the bigger live dispute is over hormones and accommodations, below. For inmates who have had sex trait modification surgery, medical care will be provided as necessary to address any complications or resulting conditions, such as urethral stricture and pelvic infections. c. Availability of Hormones to Address Gender Dysphoria i. Inmates Not Currently Receiving Hormones to Address Gender Dysphoria In instances when an inmate is diagnosed with GD but is not currently receiving hormones to address GD, the Bureau will not provide hormones to address GD and the inmate will not receive hormones to address GD. Such inmates will continue to have an individualized treatment plan to meet the inmate’s needs. The individualized treatment plan may include psychotherapy, group counseling, psychiatric services, and psychotropic medications. > If you weren't already on hormones, this policy says you don't start. BUT: this is precisely one of the things the Kingdom injunction ordered the BOP to keep providing under the old rules. So this sentence and the court order directly collide. Which one wins in practice depends on the state of the litigation, and that's exactly why you check current status rather than trusting the policy text alone. ii. Inmates Currently Receiving Hormones to Address Gender Dysphoria In instances when an inmate is previously and currently diagnosed with GD and is currently receiving hormones to address GD, the MRT shall review and approve or disapprove the tapering plan submitted by the Primary Care Provider for all such inmates. Each tapering plan shall consider the appropriate factors, such as the duration the inmate has been receiving hormones to address GD, the initial rationale for receiving the hormone intervention, the response by the inmate to the intervention, and whether the inmate has undergone sex trait modification surgery. For inmates that have recently begun receiving hormones to address GD, the Primary Care Provider shall develop a tapering plan that includes a rapid discontinuation of the hormone intervention. > For people already on hormones, the policy's plan is to taper them off, not continue them, with the national committee (MRT) signing off. Someone newer to hormones gets a 'rapid' taper; someone on them a long time gets a slower one. This is the other head-on collision with the court order, which says keep providing hormones. If a taper is happening to someone despite the injunction, that's the kind of thing you'd want documented and in front of a lawyer fast. For inmates that have been receiving hormones to address GD for an extended period of time, the Primary Care Provider shall develop a tapering plan that includes an appropriately paced discontinuation of the hormone intervention. For inmates who (1) are post sex trait modification surgery or (2) have been receiving hormones to address GD for an extended period of time and develop severe physiological and psychological withdrawal effects from tapering, it may not be appropriate in all cases for the initial tapering plan to include cessation of hormones. But tapering plans should be reevaluated regularly with respect to cessation of hormones, including during the inmate’s chronic care clinic appointments. > There's a narrow carve-out: if stopping hormones would cause severe medical/psychological harm (or the person is post-surgery and needs them), they don't have to fully stop right away. But note the follow-up sentence keeps pushing toward cessation over time. The direction of travel in the policy is off the hormones; the exceptions just slow it down. d. Social Accommodations The Bureau will not provide social accommodations, including to inmates diagnosed with GD, and the inmate will not receive social accommodations. If the inmate currently has social accommodations, the Bureau shall no longer provide the social accommodations and, when practicable, remove or confiscate the social accommodations. When appropriate, and in accordance with standard procedure, inmates may still have access to purchase items on the standardized list of Commissary items available to inmates in their facility. > The binders, makeup, wigs, etc. defined earlier: the policy says stop providing them and take away what someone already has. Again, this is a direct hit against the Kingdom injunction, which ordered social accommodations to continue. The one thing left open is buying whatever's on the normal commissary list everyone can access. Confiscation of items a court said to keep providing is exactly the kind of conflict that ends up back in front of the judge. SECTION 8: SEVERABILITY, APPLICATION OF THIS POLICY AND NO PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION (EXCERPT) If any provision of this policy, or the application of any provision of this policy to any individual or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this policy and the application of its provisions to any other individuals or circumstances shall not be affected. The intent of this policy is for federal funds to not be expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex to the maximum extent permitted by law, including the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Nothing in this policy shall prevent a prison official from providing care required by federal law, including the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Bureau shall ensure that all inmates diagnosed with GD receive care in accordance with federal law, including the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Nothing in this policy is intended, nor shall it be construed, to create a private cause of action. > Three pieces of legal self-defense. 'Severability': if a court strikes down one part, the rest stands. The Eighth Amendment line: they're reserving that they'll still provide whatever the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment requires (denial of serious medical care can violate it). And 'no private right of action': this policy by itself is not a thing you can sue over. That doesn't mean nobody can sue about the underlying care, people clearly have, that's what Kingdom is, it just means the lawsuit hangs on the Constitution and other law, not on this document. I'm not a lawyer and this is the part where you genuinely need one. Source: PS 5260.01 (2/19/2026), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5260\_001.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5260_001.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging # TRULINCS: Electronic Messaging PS 5265.13 (2/19/2009) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5265_013.pdf) The rules for email on the inside: who can be a contact, how approval works, what gets monitored (everything), and what gets a message rejected. Read this before you use [the ask-from-inside address](https://federalprisondude.com/#inside). Note who does the approving in it: the person on the outside approves the inmate, not staff approving the address. Housekeeping note: this was later folded into the Trust Fund (your prison bank account) manual's TRULINCS chapter, and people cite it both ways. Same rules either way. **A local supplement almost certainly applies** Wardens issue institution supplements to fill in whatever national policy leaves up to the facility, and this is one of the policies they supplement most often. What's below is the national floor. The supplement is the version staff actually work from day to day: the hours, the limits, the forms, the local exceptions. It can't contradict the policy below, but it can be far more specific than anything on this page, and it's usually where the rule you can't find here lives. No supplements are posted on this site yet. They're written facility by facility and the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) doesn't publish them in one place, so they go up as I get current copies. Until then, the person inside can ask their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) for the institution supplement to PS 5265.13, usually numbered with the facility's code in front of it and kept in the law library. [The facility's Facebook group](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) is the other place people find out what the local version says. Cheat sheet - **Everything is read and kept.** Every message, both directions, plus who sent it, when, and to whom. Accepting the contact request means you consented too. - **Lawyers get no privilege here.** Attorney email is monitored like everything else. Anything that matters goes through legal mail under [PS 5265.14](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-14-correspondence). - **Contacts are added from the inside.** You can't put yourself on anyone's list. Your loved one adds your address; one typo and the notice silently goes nowhere. - **Attachments never arrive.** Photos, PDFs, scans all get stripped before delivery. Documents go through postal mail (paper letters, opened and screened). - **Rejections are one-sided.** The sender gets a notice; the recipient hears nothing. A week of silence is usually a bounced message, not an emergency. - **No subpoena required.** Law enforcement gets message content and metadata with a written request. The phone line has more process protection than the email. SECTION 2: AUTHORITY (EXCERPT) Use of the TRULINCS is a privilege; therefore, the Warden or an authorized representative may limit or deny the privilege of a particular inmate (see Section 3 for restrictions). By participating in the TRULINCS program, inmates, and the persons in the community with whom they correspond, voluntarily consent to having all incoming and outgoing electronic messages, including transactional data, message contents, and other activities, monitored and retained by Bureau staff. This authority includes rejecting individual messages sent to or from inmates using TRULINCS that jeopardize the above-mentioned interests. > Everything is read and everything is kept: the message, who sent it, when, to whom. And "persons in the community" means _you_: the moment you accept the contact request out here, you've consented to the same monitoring. There is no private conversation on TRULINCS. Write every message like a third person is reading it, because one is. SECTION 4: CONTACT LIST (EXCERPT) a. Inmate to Persons in the Community Communication. Inmates may only exchange electronic messages with persons in the community who have accepted the inmate's request to communicate. The Warden may deny electronic messaging if it is determined that there is a threat to institution security or good order, or a threat to the public and staff. Inmates may not exchange electronic messages with unauthorized contacts including, but not limited to, victims, witnesses, other persons connected with the inmate's criminal history, and law enforcement officers, contractors, or volunteers. NOTE: Inmates may place attorneys, "special mail" recipients, or other legal representatives on their electronic message contact list, with the acknowledgment that electronic messages exchanged with such individuals will not be treated as privileged communications and will be subject to monitoring. > The exception you'd expect doesn't exist. Even your lawyer, on the contact list, gets no attorney-client privilege over TRULINCS. Anything privileged goes through legal mail (the paper kind, under [PS 5265.14](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-14-correspondence)), which actually has protections. Email your lawyer logistics; mail your lawyer substance. SECTION 5: PROCEDURES FOR EXCHANGING ELECTRONIC MESSAGES (EXCERPT) a. Contact List. It is an inmate's responsibility to maintain his/her own contact list. An inmate requests to exchange electronic messages with a person in the community by placing that person on the inmate's contact list. > The direction matters: contacts get added from the _inside_. You can't push an address in from out here. Your loved one types it into their list, the system emails you a notice, you accept. That's why [the ask-from-inside setup](https://federalprisondude.com/#inside) works the way it does: I hand you an address, you spell it to your loved one letter by letter, they add it. One typo and the notice goes nowhere, silently. b. Notice. Upon receiving the system generated message, the person in the community is notified that: the Federal inmate identified seeks to add the person in the community to his/her authorized electronic message contact list; the person in the community may approve the inmate for electronic message exchanges, refuse the request for electronic message exchanges, or refuse the current and all future Federal inmates' requests for electronic message exchanges; by approving, the person in the community consents to have Bureau staff monitor the content of all electronic messages and agrees to comply with program rules and procedures; if the person in the community sends an attachment with an electronic message to a Federal inmate, the attachment will be stripped from the message and will not be delivered to the inmate. > No photos, no PDFs, no scans. Attachments get stripped before delivery, silently. If you need to get your loved one a document, it goes through postal mail. Family photos have their own rules per facility; check the visiting policy and the institution supplement before mailing a stack. c. Consent. If the person in the community consents to receive electronic messages, that person is added to the inmate's electronic message contact list. SECTION 8: REJECTION OF ELECTRONIC MESSAGES (EXCERPT) a. Reasons for Rejection. Electronic messages that would jeopardize the safety, security, or orderly operation of the correctional facility or the protection of the public and staff may be rejected for reasons that include, but are not limited to: (1) The message is detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the institution, or a threat to the public and staff, or it might facilitate criminal activity, including any message that: encourages, instructs, or may facilitate criminal activity; constitutes unauthorized direction of an inmate's business (see 28 CFR Part 541, subpart B, regarding Inmate Discipline); contains threats, extortion, or obscenity; is written in, or otherwise contains, a code. > "A code" is as broad as it sounds. Inside jokes, shorthand, initials-only references, that thing where your family has a nickname for everyone. A monitor who doesn't get it can bounce the message. Write plainly. Boring email is email that arrives. c. Notification of Rejection. When an electronic message is rejected, the sender is notified that his/her electronic message will not be delivered and the reason(s) for the rejection. The intended recipient is not informed of the rejection. > Rejected messages vanish silently on the receiving end: the sender gets a notice, the recipient gets nothing. So if your loved one goes quiet for a week, the boring explanation is usually the right one: a bounced message, a locked-down unit, a broken terminal. Don't assume the worst; ask on the next phone call. SECTION 11: LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUESTS FOR ELECTRONIC MESSAGES The Bureau's TRULINCS System of Records, and the Privacy Act of 1974, allow disclosure of TRULINCS transactional data and message content for law enforcement purposes, as defined therein. Subpoenas for these are not required, as compared to recorded telephone conversations. Upon receipt of a properly submitted written request from a law enforcement agency, BOP staff are authorized to release both transactional data (e.g., date, time, electronic message address, electronic message recipient and sender, and length of the message) and copies of the electronic messages. > The sentence almost nobody has read: law enforcement doesn't need a subpoena for TRULINCS messages. A written request gets them everything, content included. The recorded phone line has more process protection than the email does. Per the Bureau's own policy, the audience can include an investigator on request. Source: PS 5265.13 (2/19/2009), bop.gov/policy/progstat/5265\_013.pdf. U.S. government work, public domain. Full document is 9 pages; sections 3 (restrictions and exclusions), 4(b) (inmate-to-inmate), and 10 (fees) omitted here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-14-correspondence # Correspondence PS 5265.14 (4/5/2011) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5265_014.pdf) Postal mail, the paper kind. What gets opened, what gets read, what gets rejected, and the difference between general correspondence and "special mail," which is the only mail carrying real privilege. Assume everything else is read. This is also where the small stuff lives that families learn the hard way: no stamps in the envelope, no cash in the envelope, no photos of the kind the policy spells out, and 30 days of forwarding after a transfer. People confuse this one with the TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored) policy constantly; the numbers are one digit apart and the privacy rules are not the same. [PS 5265.13](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5265-13-trulincs-electronic-messaging) is email. This one is mail. **A local supplement almost certainly applies** Wardens issue institution supplements to fill in whatever national policy leaves up to the facility, and this is one of the policies they supplement most often. What's below is the national floor. The supplement is the version staff actually work from day to day: the hours, the limits, the forms, the local exceptions. It can't contradict the policy below, but it can be far more specific than anything on this page, and it's usually where the rule you can't find here lives. No supplements are posted on this site yet. They're written facility by facility and the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) doesn't publish them in one place, so they go up as I get current copies. Until then, the person inside can ask their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) for the institution supplement to PS 5265.14, usually numbered with the facility's code in front of it and kept in the law library. [The facility's Facebook group](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) is the other place people find out what the local version says. SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE § 540.10 (EXCERPT) The Bureau of Prisons encourages correspondence that is directed to socially useful goals. The Warden shall establish correspondence procedures for inmates in each institution, as authorized and suggested in this rule. > This national policy sets the outer limits. The details that actually affect you get set by each prison's warden, which is why mail rules differ from one facility to the next. The specifics your family cares about live in the local supplement, posted on the unit bulletin board or in the library. Read that early. Institution guidelines concerning correspondence will be made widely available to staff and inmates through posting on bulletin boards, placement in the institution library, or other appropriate means. Incoming and outgoing general correspondence will be subject to monitoring, reading, and inspection. > Regular mail gets opened and can be read. Write every letter like a staff member is reading it, because one might be. Legal and special mail is the only stuff that gets real privacy, and that's covered further down. SECTION 2: DEFINITIONS § 540.2 (EXCERPT) The Warden or designee must give prior approval for an inmate to receive or send a package (see the Program Statement Mail Management Manual). Procedures for incoming publications are discussed in the Program Statement Incoming Publications. Procedures for inmate electronic messaging are addressed in the Program Statement Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System (TRULINCS) — Electronic Messaging. > Don't mail anyone a package as a surprise. It has to be approved first. A box that shows up without approval is treated as contraband and rejected. (c) Special mail means correspondence sent to the following: President and Vice President of the United States, the U.S. Department of Justice (including the Bureau of Prisons), U.S. Attorneys Offices, Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service, Secretary of the Army, Navy, or Air Force, U.S. Courts (including U.S. Probation Officers), Members of the U.S. Congress, Embassies and Consulates, Governors, State Attorneys General, Prosecuting Attorneys, Directors of State Departments of Corrections, State Parole Commissioners, State Legislators, State Courts, State Probation Officers, other Federal and State law enforcement offices, attorneys, and representatives of the news media. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is part of the U.S. Public Health Service; correspondence sent to the CDC is considered special mail. An inmate is expected to use the special mail privilege responsibly. Refer questions concerning alleged abuses to the Office of General Counsel. Special mail also includes correspondence received from the following: President and Vice President of the United States, attorneys, Members of the U.S. Congress, Embassies and Consulates, the U.S. Department of Justice (excluding the Bureau of Prisons but including U.S. Attorneys), other Federal law enforcement officers, State Attorneys General, Prosecuting Attorneys, Governors, U.S. Courts (including U.S. Probation Officers), and State Courts. For incoming correspondence to be processed under the special mail procedures (see §§ 540.18--540.19), the sender must be adequately identified on the envelope, and the front of the envelope must be marked "Special Mail — Open only in the presence of the inmate". > This is the most important detail in the whole policy for anyone with a lawyer. Legal mail privacy is not automatic. The envelope has to show it's from the attorney and be marked on the front "Special Mail: Open only in the presence of the inmate." Miss either piece and staff can legally open it and read it like any other letter. When a lawyer's letters keep getting read, this is almost always why. SECTION 4: CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES § 540.12 (EXCERPT) (c) Staff shall inform an inmate that letters placed in the U.S. Mail are placed there at the request of the inmate and the inmate must assume responsibility for the contents of each letter. Correspondence containing threats, extortion, etc., may result in prosecution for violation of federal laws. When such material is discovered, the inmate may be subject to disciplinary action, the written material may be copied, and all material may be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency for prosecution. > What you put in a letter can become evidence. Threats, extortion, or anything that reads like planning a crime gets you a shot and can get copied and handed to law enforcement for a new charge. People forget this when they vent on paper. Don't. SECTION 5: NOTIFICATION OF REJECTIONS § 540.13 (EXCERPT) When correspondence is rejected, the Warden shall notify the sender in writing of the rejection and the reasons for the rejection. The Warden shall also give notice that the sender may appeal the rejection. The Warden shall also notify an inmate of the rejection of any letter addressed to that inmate, along with the reasons for the rejection and shall notify the inmate of the right to appeal the rejection. The Warden shall refer an appeal to an official other than the one who originally disapproved the correspondence. The Warden shall return rejected correspondence to the sender unless the correspondence includes plans for or discussion of commission of a crime or evidence of a crime, in which case there is no need to return the correspondence or give notice of the rejection, and the correspondence should be referred to appropriate law enforcement authorities. Also, contraband need not be returned to the sender. > If mail gets rejected, both sides are supposed to be told in writing, told why, and told they can appeal. The appeal goes to a different staffer than the one who rejected it. If your mail keeps bouncing and nobody's putting a reason in writing, they're skipping a step the policy requires. SECTION 6: GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE § 540.14 (EXCERPT) (c) (1) Outgoing mail from a sentenced inmate in a minimum or low security level institution may be sealed by the inmate and, except as provided for in paragraphs (c)(1)(i) through (iv) of this section, is sent out unopened and uninspected. Staff may open a sentenced inmate's outgoing general correspondence: > A real perk of camp and low. If you're sentenced at a minimum or low, your outgoing letters can be sealed and go out unread, unless you're on the restricted list, it's inmate-to-inmate mail, the return address is incomplete, or they suspect trouble. This only covers mail going out. Everything coming in still gets opened at every level. At medium and up it's stricter, but that's outside my lane, I did low. (i) If there is reason to believe it would interfere with the orderly running of the institution, that it would be threatening to the recipient, or that it would facilitate criminal activity; (ii) If the inmate is on a restricted correspondence list; (iii) If the correspondence is between inmates (see § 540.17); or (iv) If the envelope has an incomplete return address. (2) Except for "special mail," outgoing mail from a sentenced inmate in a medium or high security level institution, or an administrative institution may not be sealed by the inmate and may be read and inspected by staff. See the Program Statement Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification for identification of security levels. (3) Mail Monitoring. Each institution establishes procedures for monitoring incoming and outgoing mail. Institutions may wish to give closer scrutiny to incoming and outgoing mail of inmates, for example, who: Participated in criminal activity of a sophisticated nature. > Worth saying plainly for the white-collar families I hear from: fraud and "sophisticated" cases are named in the policy as the kind that gets extra mail scrutiny. If the case involved schemes or fraud, don't be surprised if the mail gets watched more closely. Nothing to panic about. Just write accordingly. Committed crimes that involved mail or fraudulent schemes. Are considered escape risks. Present management problems (i.e., interference /disruption of the orderly running of the institution). The staff member designated to supervise correspondence may keep a list of such inmates. Monitoring procedures may not interfere with mail handling. (4) Reading and Inspection. As stated in this section, all incoming general correspondence and outgoing mail in medium, high, and administrative institutions (except "special mail") is subject to random reading by correctional staff. The objectives of reading mail differ from the objectives of inspection. For inspection (to which all incoming general correspondence is subjected), the objective is primarily to detect contraband. The random reading of mail is intended to reveal, for example, escape plots, plans to commit illegal acts, plans to violate institution rules, or other security concerns. (5) Disclosure. When reading correspondence, a staff member may incidentally learn information about the private lives of inmates or their correspondents. Bureau staff must be sensitive to the fact that most information in correspondence is private, and must be handled discreetly. Unless there is a legitimate correctional concern relating to security, safety, orderly running of the institution, criminal activity, or inmate rehabilitation, the contents of reviewed correspondence should not be revealed to any other person. (d) The Warden may reject correspondence sent by or to an inmate if it is determined detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the institution, to the protection of the public, or if it might facilitate criminal activity. Correspondence which may be rejected by a Warden includes, but is not limited to, correspondence which contains any of the following: (1) Matter which is nonmailable under law or postal regulations; (2) Matter which depicts, describes, or encourages activities which may lead to the use of physical violence or group disruption; This includes any printed material individually identified as placing that inmate, another inmate, or staff at risk of assault or other safety concerns. (3) Information of escape plots, of plans to commit illegal activities, or to violate Bureau rules or institution guidelines; (4) Direction of an inmate's business (See § 541.13, Prohibited Act No. 408). An inmate, unless a pre-trial detainee, may not direct a business while confined. This does not, however, prohibit correspondence necessary to enable an inmate to protect property and funds that were legitimately the inmate's at the time of commitment. Thus, for example, an inmate may correspond about refinancing an existing mortgage or sign insurance papers, but may not operate a mortgage or insurance business while in the institution. > You can't run a business from inside, and mail that reads like you're running one gets rejected. It's also a disciplinary offense, code 408. The line is protect versus operate: you can sign papers, deal with your mortgage, and handle property you already owned, but you can't make business decisions or direct employees by mail. This catches a lot of self-employed people who assume they can keep things going by letter. You can wind down and protect. You can't keep operating. § 541.13, Prohibited Act No. 408, refers to Chapter 4 of the Program Statement Inmate Discipline and Special Housing Units. (5) Threats, extortion, obscenity, or gratuitous profanity; (6) A code; (7) Sexually explicit material (for example, personal photographs) which by its nature or content poses a threat to an individual's personal safety or security, or to institution good order; or Nude or sexually suggestive photos (individual prints or copies as opposed to those from publications) present a special concern for personal safety, security, and good order. This is particularly true when the subject is an inmate's relative, friend, or acquaintance. For these reasons, ordinarily an inmate is not permitted to receive through the mail a personal photograph in which the subject is nude, displays genitalia or female breasts, or when the photo depicts sexual suggestive acts such as intercourse, fellatio, or sodomy. > Don't mail in nude or racy photos. A partner sometimes thinks it's a nice gesture. Inside it's a rejected letter and a safety problem, since photos get around. Keep mailed photos PG. SECTION 7: RESTRICTED GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE § 540.15 (EXCERPT) (d) When an inmate is placed on restricted general correspondence, the inmate may, except as provided in §§ 540.16 and 540.17: (1) Correspond with the inmate's spouse, mother, father, children, and siblings, unless the correspondent is involved in an violation of correspondence regulations, or would be a threat to the security or good order of the institution; > Even when someone's mail privileges get pulled down to a pre-approved list as punishment, immediate family stays reachable. Spouse, parents, kids, siblings don't get cut off unless that specific person is the problem. The word "spouse" includes a common-law relationship which has previously been established in a state which recognizes this status. In states that do not, a common-law relationship is not considered "immediate family." For determination of applicable state laws, consult the Regional Counsel. (2) Request other persons also to be placed on the approved correspondence list, subject to investigation, evaluation, and approval by the Warden; with prior approval, the inmate may write to a proposed correspondence to obtain a release authorizing an investigation; and (3) Correspond with former business associates, unless it appears to the Warden that the proposed correspondent would be a threat to the security or good order of the institution, or that the resulting correspondence could reasonably be expected to result in criminal activity. Correspondence with former business associates is limited to social matters. SECTION 9: CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN CONFINED INMATES § 540.17 (EXCERPT) An inmate may be permitted to correspond with an inmate confined in any other penal or correctional institution if the other inmate is either a member of the immediate family, or is a party or witness in a legal action in which both inmates are involved. Such correspondence may be approved in other exceptional circumstances, with particular regard to the security level of the institution, the nature of the relationship between the two inmates, and whether the inmate has other regular correspondence. The following additional limitations apply: > Writing to someone who's also locked up needs approval. Two ways in: they're immediate family, or you're both in the same legal case, and you have to keep proving the case connection with paperwork refreshed every six months. This comes up for co-defendants and for families with more than one person inside. Doable, but it's a process, and that mail is always readable and never sealed. Inmates must provide current documentation (dated within the past six months) to support both inmates are parties to or a witness in a current legal action. At subsequent inmate team reviews, inmates will provide supporting documentation to continue correspondence privileges. SECTION 10: SPECIAL MAIL § 540.18 (EXCERPT) (a) The Warden shall open incoming special mail only in the presence of the inmate for inspection for physical contraband and the qualification of any enclosures as special mail. The correspondence may not be read or copied if the sender is adequately identified on the envelope, and the front of the envelope is marked "Special Mail — Open only in the presence of the inmate". Incoming mail meeting these requirements must be treated per this rule. The Warden may, however, treat incoming mail that does not meet all requirements for special mail handling in the same fashion as special mail, including opening it in the inmate's presence and inspecting it only for contraband. For example, mail from the chambers of a Federal judge or from a Member of Congress should be given special handling even if it does not have a special mail marking on the envelope. Similarly, mail from an adequately identified sender that contains markings similar to the phrase "Special Mail — Open only in the presence of the inmate" may be given special handling. Examples of similar markings include "Attorney-Client — Open only in the presence of the inmate" and "Legal Mail — Open only in the presence of the inmate." (b) In the absence of either adequate identification or the "special mail" marking indicated in paragraph (a) of this section appearing on the envelope, staff may treat the mail as general correspondence and may open, inspect, and read the mail. > Done right, legal mail is opened only while you're standing there, checked for physical contraband, and not read or copied. Done wrong, meaning the envelope isn't marked and identified, it gets read like anything else. The protection lives on the outside of the envelope, not in who wrote it. Telling your lawyer how to mark it is on you, the inmate, not on the BOP. SECTION 13: PAYMENT OF POSTAGE § 540.21 (EXCERPT) (1) Postage Sold by Commissary. The inmate commissary must have available sufficient stamp denominations to allow mailing letters in excess of 1 ounce, but not requiring an additional first-class stamp. (2) Purchase Limitation. The Warden issues local guidelines, which ordinarily limit an inmate's commissary purchase per visit to 20 postage stamps (denomination for first-class, domestic, 1-ounce mailing), or the equivalent; if such visits are limited to once per week or less, the Warden may authorize an additional purchase of stamps. > Usually you can buy up to 20 stamps a trip and hold no more than 60 at once, though the warden can allow more. This matters because stamps are the unofficial currency inside, traded for goods and services since cash isn't allowed. The possession cap is part of why you can't stockpile a big pile of them. These numbers are from the 2011 policy and your local supplement can differ, so check it. (3) Inmate Possession of Postage Stamps. The Warden issues local guidelines, limiting an inmate's possession of stamps at one time to no more than 60 (denomination for first-class, domestic, 1-ounce mailing), or the equivalent. The Warden may authorize possession of stamps to a specified amount in excess of this limit. The stamps are to be maintained by the inmate in the same manner the stamps are sold or in the manner provided by the unit manager. (d) An inmate who has neither funds nor sufficient postage and who wishes to mail legal mail (includes courts and attorneys) or Administrative Remedy forms will be provided the postage stamps for such mailing. To prevent abuses of this provision, the Warden may impose restrictions on the free legal and administrative remedy mailings. > Being broke can't stop someone from mailing court papers, letters to a lawyer, or a grievance. The prison has to spot them stamps for that, roughly five a week. Separately, a person with no money still gets stamps to write home, about five letters a month. If a loved one has nothing on their books, they can still reach you. (e) When requested by an inmate who has neither funds nor sufficient postage, and upon verification of this status by staff, the Warden shall provide the postage stamps for mailing a reasonable number of letters at government expense to enable the inmate to maintain community ties. To prevent abuses of this provision, the Warden may impose restrictions on the free mailings. Five letters per month are suggested as reasonable in most circumstances. To prevent abuses, the Warden may require reimbursement as provided in Section 13(d)(1). The associate warden (not to be delegated below unit manager) makes a final determination on whether the inmate is to receive postage under this subsection. (j) Inmates may not be permitted to receive stamps or stamped items (e.g., envelopes embossed with stamps, postal cards with postage affixed) other than by issuance from the institution or by purchase from commissary. > Don't mail stamps in. It feels helpful since stamps are money inside, but they just get bounced back to you. Want to help with postage? Put money on the account instead. Stamps and stamped items sent into the institution are returned to the sender. Indicate the reason for return on Form BP-A0328, Stamps, Negotiable Instrument & Other Returned to Sender. A copy of the form is placed with the correspondence for delivery to the inmate. See the Mail Management Manual for further information. SECTION 15: INMATE FUNDS RECEIVED THROUGH THE MAILS § 540.23 (EXCERPT) Except as provided for in part 506 of this chapter, funds enclosed in inmate correspondence are to be rejected. Deposits intended for the inmate's commissary account must be mailed directly to the centralized commissary account (see 28 CFR part 506). Section 2 of the Acknowledgment of Inmate, Part 1 & 2 (BP-A0407) contains an authorization for disposition of funds. The inmate ordinarily completes this form upon initial entry into Bureau custody. Negotiable instruments must include the inmate's full name and register number. Negotiable instruments received through the mail enclosed in inmate correspondence are rejected using the Stamps, Negotiable Instrument and Other Returned to Sender form (BP-A0328). Inmates are not permitted to receive unsolicited funds through the mail, nor are inmates permitted to solicit funds or initiate requests for funds other than from family and friends. b. Staff should be alert to unusual activity concerning funds received for posting to an inmate's account or being mailed out of the institution. For example, accounting technicians, unit staff and others should notify the unit manager when an inmate receives a large amount of money either in a lump sum or over a short period of time or has unusual activity in his/her account. The unit manager determines whether an appropriate reason exists for such activity or if a referral to the captain is necessary. > Never put cash or a check inside a letter. It gets rejected. Money for someone's account goes to the central commissary lockbox with their name and register number, or you load it electronically, which is easier. And the account itself gets watched: big lump sums or a lot of deposits fast get flagged and can trigger a look. Keep deposits normal and from people they actually know. SECTION 17: CHANGE OF ADDRESS AND FORWARDING OF MAIL FOR INMATES § 540.25 (EXCERPT) (b) Inmates are responsible for informing their correspondents of a change of address. (c) Postage for mailing change of address cards is paid by the inmate. (d) Except as provided in paragraphs (e) through (g) of this section, all mail received for a released or transferred inmate will be returned to the U.S. Postal Service for disposition in accordance with U.S. Postal Service regulations. (e) Staff shall use all means practicable to forward special mail. The Program Statement Mail Management Manual provides more detailed instructions on forwarding inmate special mail. (f) Staff shall forward inmate general correspondence to the new address for a period of 30 days. > After a transfer or release, regular mail only forwards for 30 days, then it starts bouncing back to senders. The BOP won't tell your contacts the new address, that's on the inmate. When a move happens, get the new mailing address out to family fast. This is a common reason letters suddenly stop arriving after a transfer. Inmate general mail (as opposed to special mail) is forwarded to the new address for 30 days. General mail is forwarded to the address in the SENTRY database. After 30 days, general mail is returned to the sender with the notation "Not at this address — return to sender." Source: PS 5265.14 (4/5/2011), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5265\_014.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5265_014.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5266-11-incoming-publications # Incoming Publications PS 5266.11 (11/9/2011) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5266_011.pdf) How books, magazines, and newspapers get in. The default is yes, you don't need permission, and the rest of the document is the exceptions: the hardcover-from-a-seller rule families trip over constantly, the security-level differences for paperbacks, the short list of reasons a warden can reject something, and the Ensign Amendment rules for anything with nudity. If a book bounces, the appeal runs through [the grievance system](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program), and this page tells you which arguments actually have teeth. **A local supplement almost certainly applies** Wardens issue institution supplements to fill in whatever national policy leaves up to the facility, and this is one of the policies they supplement most often. What's below is the national floor. The supplement is the version staff actually work from day to day: the hours, the limits, the forms, the local exceptions. It can't contradict the policy below, but it can be far more specific than anything on this page, and it's usually where the rule you can't find here lives. No supplements are posted on this site yet. They're written facility by facility and the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) doesn't publish them in one place, so they go up as I get current copies. Until then, the person inside can ask their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) for the institution supplement to PS 5266.11, usually numbered with the facility's code in front of it and kept in the law library. [The facility's Facebook group](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) is the other place people find out what the local version says. § 540.70 PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) Except when precluded by statute (see 540.72), the Bureau of Prisons permits an inmate to subscribe to or to receive publications without prior approval and has established procedures to determine if an incoming publication is detrimental to the security, discipline, or good order of the institution or if it might facilitate criminal activity. The term publication, as used in this subpart, means a book, booklet, pamphlet, or similar document, or a single issue of a magazine, periodical, newsletter, newspaper, plus such other materials addressed to a specific inmate such as advertising brochures, flyers, and catalogs. > The default is yes. You don't have to ask permission to get a book, magazine, or newspaper. Books and magazines flow in unless the prison finds a specific reason to stop a specific item. This is the whole point of the policy: it's a list of the narrow exceptions, not a wall. And "publication" is broad here: books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, even catalogs and flyers all count. Section 7 of this Program Statement contains procedures to implement Sec. 615 of The Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-113) (hereafter referred to as the Ensign Amendment). > Remember this name. The Ensign Amendment is the federal law that bans the BOP from spending money to hand you anything sexually explicit or featuring nudity. It's the reason a whole separate, stricter set of rules (Section 3 below) exists for that specific kind of material. When your Playboy or lingerie catalog gets bounced, this is usually why, not the warden's personal call, but a spending restriction Congress wrote. b. Program Objectives. Expected results of this program are: Inmates will be permitted to receive and retain publications that do not threaten the security, good order, or discipline of the institution, or that may facilitate criminal activity, or are otherwise prohibited by law. > Two words to watch across this whole document: "receive" and "retain." You're allowed to get publications AND keep them. That matters because the prison can later decide something already in your cell is a problem, or cap how much you can hold onto for fire/space reasons (that comes up on page 5). Getting a book in the door isn't always the end of the story. Publications determined detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the institution or that may facilitate criminal activity, or are otherwise prohibited by law, will be excluded from Bureau facilities. A safer environment for staff and inmates will be provided by strengthening procedures to prevent the introduction of contraband. § 540.71 PROCEDURES (EXCERPT) (a)(1) At all Bureau institutions, an inmate may receive hardcover publications and newspapers only from the publisher, from a book club, or from a bookstore. > This is the rule families trip over constantly. Hardcover books and newspapers can only come from a real seller: publisher, book club, or a bookstore: no matter what kind of prison it is. This applies everywhere, camps included. So Mom can't mail you the hardcover she bought and read first, and you can't get a newspaper mailed from home. Order it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, a book club, or the publisher and have it shipped straight to the facility. And whoever sends it, their address has to be right there on the outside of the box or the mailroom will bounce it. The sender’s address must be clearly identified on the outside of the package. (2) At medium security, high security, and administrative institutions, an inmate may receive softcover publications (for example, paperback books, newspaper clippings, magazines, and other similar items) only from the publisher, from a book club, or from a bookstore. (3) At minimum security and low security institutions, an inmate may receive softcover publications (other than newspapers) from any source. > Here's where the security level of the facility actually changes what you can get. For soft stuff: paperbacks, magazines, printed-out clippings: At a camp or a low, softcover can come from ANY source. Your sister can print an article and mail it. A friend can send a paperback they bought. That's a real perk of lower custody. At a medium, a high, or an administrative facility (detention centers, transfer centers), softcover still has to come from a publisher, book club, or bookstore: same as hardcovers. Note the one carve-out even at camps: newspapers still have to come from the seller everywhere. Only softcover-that-isn't-a-newspaper gets the "any source" freedom. (4) The Unit Manager may make an exception to the provisions of paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section if the publication is no longer available from the publisher, book club, or bookstore. The Unit Manager shall require that the inmate provide written documentation that the publication is no longer available from these sources. The approval of any request for an exception is to be documented, in writing, on an Authorization to Receive a Package which will be used to secure the item. > If a book is genuinely out of print, not sold anywhere anymore. The unit manager can let it come from an outside source instead. But you have to prove it's unavailable in writing (a printout showing it's out of stock/out of print), and it gets approved on paper first. This is the escape hatch for the rare old or obscure title you can't buy new. Don't expect it for anything you could still order online. (b) The Warden may reject a publication only if it is determined detrimental to the security, good order, or discipline of the institution or if it might facilitate criminal activity. The Warden may not reject a publication solely because its content is religious, philosophical, political, social or sexual, or because its content is unpopular or repugnant. Publications which may be rejected by a Warden include but are not limited to publications which meet one of the following criteria: > A book can't be banned just because staff find it offensive, political, religious, or gross. "I don't like it" is not a legal reason. The warden needs an actual security or criminal-activity reason tied to the specific categories listed next. In practice this is your appeal argument: if something gets rejected, the question is always "which specific security reason," and "we just don't want you reading it" isn't one. (1) It depicts or describes procedures for the construction or use of weapons, ammunition, bombs or incendiary devices; (2) It depicts, encourages, or describes methods of escape from correctional facilities, or contains blueprints, drawings or similar descriptions of Bureau of Prisons institutions; (3) It depicts or describes procedures for the brewing of alcoholic beverages, or the manufacture of drugs; (4) It is written in code; (5) It depicts, describes or encourages activities which may lead to the use of physical violence or group disruption; (6) It encourages or instructs in the commission of criminal activity; (7) It is sexually explicit material which by its nature or content poses a threat to the security, good order, or discipline of the institution, or facilitates criminal activity. > This is the actual list of reasons a publication can be tossed. In plain terms: how to make weapons or bombs, how to escape or maps/blueprints of prisons, how to make booze or drugs, anything written in code, anything pushing violence or a riot, anything teaching you to commit a crime, and sexually explicit stuff that's a security threat. "Written in code" catches more than you'd think. It can snag puzzle books, certain foreign-language or cipher-heavy material, anything staff can't easily read. And "include but are not limited to" means this isn't the complete list; it's the main categories. If your book doesn't clearly hit one of these, that's your leverage on appeal. Only the Warden may reject an incoming publication. In the Warden’s absence, only the Acting Warden may perform this function. > This is more important than it looks. A mailroom officer, a counselor, a CO. None of them has the authority to reject a publication. Only the warden (or the acting warden when the warden's out) can. So if you're told "the mailroom rejected your book," that's either sloppy shorthand or a process problem. The rejection is only valid if it went up to the warden. Worth knowing if you're filing a grievance over a bounced book. Section 3 of this Program Statement contains procedures for returning a publication under the Ensign Amendment. In Section 3, sexually explicit and nudity are defined in terms of pictorial depictions only. Publications not subject to return under Section 3 (for example, material that does not meet a definition in that section) may still be rejected under this section. > Key distinction that runs through the whole document. The Ensign Amendment rules (Section 3) are only about pictures: images of nudity or sex acts. Written erotica doesn't trigger that law. BUT, and this is the catch. Sexually explicit text can still get a book rejected under the general security rule (2.b.7) above. So "it's just words, no pictures" gets you past one door and can still get stopped at the other. To help staff determine which materials may pose the type of threat that warrants exclusion, the following guidelines are provided. A Warden may determine that sexually explicit material of the following types will be excluded, as potentially detrimental to the security and good order or discipline of the institution, or as facilitating criminal activity: Sadomasochistic. Bestiality. Involving children. > These three categories are the hard stops. Anything involving children is flat-out illegal (it's child pornography, addressed on the next page) and there is no version of it that comes in. S&M and bestiality material can be excluded even if it wouldn't otherwise trip the picture-based Ensign rules. Don't test these. In addition: The Warden must prohibit a sexually explicit publication if it is determined to pose a threat to the institution or is contrary to law. Child pornography materials, which are prohibited by law, are examples. Sexually explicit material does not include material of a news or information type. Publications concerning research or opinions on sexual, health, or reproductive issues, or covering the activities of gay rights organizations or gay religious groups, for example, should be admitted unless they are otherwise a threat to legitimate institution interests. Literary publications should not be excluded, solely because of homosexual themes or references, if they are not sexually explicit in a manner that threatens legitimate institution interests. Sexually explicit material may be admitted if it has scholarly value, or general social or literary value. > There's a real line between porn and content that happens to touch sex. Health and reproductive information, news, research, LGBTQ organizations' material, and literature with gay themes are supposed to be allowed: they aren't "sexually explicit" just for being about sex or being gay. And even genuinely explicit material can come in if it has scholarly, social, or literary value. This is the exception that lets serious books (novels, sex-ed, medical texts) through. It's also, realistically, a judgment call that varies by facility, so it's a coin-flip you can appeal, not a guarantee. (c) The Warden may not establish an excluded list of publications. This means the Warden shall review the individual publication prior to the rejection of that publication. Rejection of several issues of a subscription publication is not sufficient reason to reject the subscription publication in its entirety. > No blacklists. The prison can't keep a standing "banned titles" list and auto-reject on sight. Every single item has to be looked at on its own. And they can't cancel your whole magazine subscription just because a few issues got rejected. Each issue stands alone. So if three months of a magazine got bounced, the subscription itself is still supposed to keep coming, and next month's issue gets its own fresh review. (d) Where a publication is found unacceptable, the Warden shall promptly advise the inmate in writing of the decision and the reasons for it. The notice must contain reference to the specific article(s) or material(s) considered objectionable. The Warden shall permit the inmate an opportunity to review this material for purposes of filing an appeal under the Administrative Remedy Program unless such review may provide the inmate with information of a nature which is deemed to pose a threat or detriment to the security, good order or discipline of the institution or to encourage or instruct in criminal activity. > When something gets rejected, they owe you a written notice that says WHICH article or page or image is the problem, not just a vague "rejected for security." That specificity is your ammunition for an appeal. You're also usually allowed to review the flagged material yourself before you appeal, unless the material itself is the kind of thing they won't let you see (like the escape or weapons stuff). If the notice you get is vague, that's a defect worth pointing out in the grievance. In questionable cases, institution staff should consult legal staff. > Their own policy tells staff to run close calls past the legal department. Useful to know: if you're appealing a borderline rejection, you're not being unreasonable: the policy itself acknowledges these are hard calls that sometimes need a lawyer to sort out. I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice, but this line tells you the gray area is real and built into the process. (e) The Warden shall provide the publisher or sender of an unacceptable publication a copy of the rejection letter. The Warden shall advise the publisher or sender that he may obtain an independent review of the rejection by writing to the Regional Director within 20 days of receipt of the rejection letter. The Warden shall return the rejected publication to the publisher or sender of the material unless the inmate indicates an intent to file an appeal under the Administrative Remedy Program, in which case the Warden shall retain the rejected material at the institution for review. In case of appeal, if the rejection is sustained, the rejected publication shall be returned when appeal or legal use is completed. > Once something's rejected, they mail it back to whoever sent it: UNLESS you speak up and say you're going to appeal. If you say nothing, the book goes back and the clock's ticking. If you say "I intend to appeal," they hold it here while you fight it. Practical move: the moment you learn a publication was rejected, tell your unit team in writing that you intend to file an appeal, so it doesn't get shipped off before you can act. The Warden will retain the rejected publication for 20 days from the date the inmate is sent written notification of the rejection. The 20-day period allows the inmate to file an appeal under the Administrative Remedy Program. If he/she does not file within 20 days, the rejected publication may be returned to the publisher. > You get 20 days. That's the window to file your appeal (a BP-229) after you're notified. Miss it and the book gets shipped back to the sender. Twenty days sounds like a lot until you factor in mail delays, count freezes, and how slow the grievance process moves, so start the paperwork early, not on day 19. If the inmate does file an appeal, the Warden will retain the rejected publication at the institution. The rejected publication (or the offensive portion of it) must be reviewed before a staff response is prepared for the BP-229, Request for Administrative Remedy or, when applicable, a BP-230, Regional Appeal of Administrative Remedy or BP-231, Central Office Appeal of Administrative Remedy, respectively. The Regional Office and Central Office should not respond to a BP-230 or BP-231 appeal without first reviewing either the rejected publication or a copy of the offensive portion of it. > The appeal ladder here: BP-229 is the first step at the institution, BP-230 goes up to the Region, BP-231 goes to Central Office (the top). At the regional and national levels, they're supposed to actually look at the material before ruling, not just rubber-stamp the warden. It doesn't always feel that way, but it's the standard you can hold them to. (f) The Warden may set limits locally (for fire, sanitation, or housekeeping reasons) on the number or volume of publications an inmate may receive or retain in his quarters. The Warden may authorize an inmate additional storage space for storage of legal materials in accordance with the Bureau of Prisons procedures on personal property of inmates. > Here's the "retain" catch coming home to roost. Even if every book you own is perfectly allowed, the facility can cap how many you're allowed to physically keep in your space: justified as fire and clutter control. This is real and it bites: guys with a stack of books get told to send some home or donate them. The one break: legal materials can get extra storage space, so your case paperwork doesn't count against your book pile the same way. Don't build a library you'll be forced to purge. § 540.72 STATUTORY RESTRICTIONS REQUIRING RETURN OF COMMERCIALLY PUBLISHED INFORMATION OR MATERIAL WHICH IS SEXUALLY EXPLICIT OR FEATURES NUDITY (EXCERPT) Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 4042 note, states: “[N]one of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Federal Bureau of Prisons may be used to distribute or make available any commercially published information or material to a prisoner when it is made known to the Federal official having authority to obligate or expend such funds that such information or material is sexually explicit or features nudity.” > This is the Ensign Amendment itself, in the actual statute. It's written as a money rule, not a morality rule: the BOP literally cannot spend a dime of its funding to hand you commercially published material that's sexually explicit or features nudity. Because it's a spending ban, staff have zero discretion to make an exception: they'd be breaking the law. That's why this material gets "returned" rather than "rejected," and why the process (next entries) is stricter and faster than the regular one. (a) When commercially published information or material may not be distributed by staff or made available to inmates due to statutory restrictions (for example, a prohibition on the use of appropriated funds to distribute or make available to inmates information or material which is sexually explicit or features nudity), the Warden or designee shall return the information or material to the publisher or sender. The Warden or designee shall advise the publisher or sender that an independent review of the decision may be obtained by writing to the Regional Director within 20 days of receipt of the notification letter. Staff shall provide the inmate with written notice of the action. > Two big differences from the regular process. First, notice the word "designee": unlike a normal rejection (which only the warden can do), Ensign returns can be handled by staff the warden assigns, usually the mailroom. Second, this material goes straight back to the sender. You don't get the same "hold it while I appeal" protection, because: see the next entry. The law won't let them keep the material available to you at all, even during an appeal. Mailroom staff will return publications found to be non-distributable on the basis of the definitions listed in subsection (b) below. The publications will be returned with the appropriate attachment. Ordinarily, the outside cover is used to assess content or the need for further review. > Mailroom staff often judge by the cover: literally. If the outside of a magazine advertises what's inside, that alone can get it pulled without anyone reading further. This cuts both ways: a tame publication with a racy cover can get bounced on looks, and it's why "features" (below) includes anything that promotes itself with nudity on the cover. Under subsection (a) of this section, there is no need to delay the return of non-distributable publications or materials even when an inmate appeals under the Administrative Remedy Program, because the statutory restriction on making the material available precludes any inmate review. Although the publication or material is returned, the Warden will ensure a copy of the publication cover and one page of the banned information or material is copied and retained at the institution in case of a subsequent appeal by the inmate or publisher/sender. > Even though the item ships back to the sender, the prison keeps a copy of the cover and one offending page on file. That's the evidence they'd point to if you or the publisher appeals. Good to know it exists. If you do appeal, that retained page is what the decision hangs on, and you can ask what specifically was flagged. Inmates may use the Administrative Remedy Program to appeal return of materials. However, as 18 U.S.C. 4042 note prohibits the Bureau from distributing the material, inmates may not review copies of returned materials in connection with administrative remedy filings. > The catch-22 of Ensign material. You can still file an appeal, but you can't actually see the thing you're appealing, because the law forbids them from making it available to you even for that. So you're arguing about a magazine you're not allowed to look at. Practically, this makes these appeals very hard to win. The realistic play is preventing the rejection in the first place (don't order borderline stuff), not fighting it after. (b) Definitions. For the purpose of this section: (1) Commercially published information or material means any book, booklet, pamphlet, magazine, periodical, newsletter, photograph or other pictorial depiction, or similar document, including stationery and greeting cards, published by any individual, organization, company, or corporation which is distributed or made available through any means or media for commercial purposes. This definition includes any portion extracted, photocopied, or clipped from such items. > You can't dodge the rule by clipping or photocopying. If someone tears a page out of a magazine, prints a picture, or mails you a clipping, it's treated exactly like the original publication. So "I just sent a printout, not the whole magazine" doesn't get around anything. Note it also has to be COMMERCIALLY published: a hand-drawn picture or a personal photo is handled under different rules (correspondence and personal property), not this section. (2) Nudity means a pictorial depiction where genitalia or female breasts are exposed. Specifically, when the pictorial depiction of the female breast displays the areola or nipple, this material will be rejected. > This is the exact, literal line the mailroom uses. "Nudity" here has a precise definition: exposed genitals, or a female breast showing the areola or nipple. That specificity is why a swimsuit issue can pass and the same magazine's more revealing shoot can't. It's not about how sexy something feels: it's a mechanical check for whether specific body parts are visible in a photo. (3) Features means the publication contains depictions of nudity or sexually explicit conduct on a routine or regular basis or promotes itself based upon such depictions in the case of individual one-time issues. Publications containing nudity illustrative of medical, educational, or anthropological content may be excluded from this definition. > "Features" is about whether nudity is the point of the publication. Either it does it regularly or it sells that specific issue on it. And there's a real carve-out: nudity that's medical, educational, or anthropological doesn't count. That's the exception that lets an anatomy textbook or a health book with clinical images through. Context matters: a nude photo in a med text is treated differently than the identical exposure in a men's magazine. Section 2.c. prohibits the establishment of an excluded list of publications. It is important to review each individual publication for unacceptable content. The following are examples of commercial publications that contain nudity illustrative of medical, educational, or anthropological content, which are allowable: National Geographic. Our Bodies, Ourselves. > The BOP's own examples, which are genuinely useful. National Geographic and Our Bodies, Ourselves are fine. The nudity in them is educational/anthropological. Swimsuit issues and lingerie catalogs are allowable ONLY if they don't cross the nudity line above (no exposed nipple/genitals). The lesson: it's issue-by-issue, not title-by-title. This month's catalog can be fine and next month's can be rejected. Don't assume a magazine that came in last time will come in this time. Also, the following are examples of commercial publications that may be allowable if they do not contain depictions of nudity: Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues. Lingerie catalogs. However, if the above examples contain depictions of nudity not illustrative of medical, educational, or anthropological content, they should be rejected under this section. A publication may change a single issue or its general policies and practices at any time, which would make it acceptable or unacceptable for distribution. The examples above are guidelines only and are subject to change. (4) Sexually explicit means a pictorial depiction of actual or simulated sexual acts including sexual intercourse, oral sex, or masturbation. For purposes of this section, written text does not qualify a publication as sexually explicit. Publications with sexual content that are not returned under these procedures are still subject to rejection through procedures in Section 2.b.(7). For example, publications that contain sexually explicit text, feature sadomasochism or bestiality, or involve children may not meet the definitions in this Section for sexually explicit or nudity, but may be considered detrimental to the security and good order of the institution, per Section 2.b.(7). > The two-doors point again, spelled out clearly. Under the Ensign law (this section), "sexually explicit" means PICTURES of sex acts: text alone doesn't trigger it. So an erotic novel isn't returned under Ensign. But it can still be rejected under the general security rule (2.b.7) back on page 3. Same for S&M or bestiality text. Bottom line: "no pictures" gets you past the Ensign door, but explicit writing can still be stopped at the security door. Two separate checks, and material has to clear both. Source: PS 5266.11 (11/9/2011), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5266\_011.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5266_011.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5267-09-visiting-regulations # Visiting Regulations PS 5267.09 · Change Notice CN-1 (8/1/2023) to the 12/10/2015 statement · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5267.09cn-1.pdf) How you get on the list, how long you get, and what happens in the front lobby. The national floor is four hours a month and weekend hours; nearly everything else is local, which is why the schedule, the dress code, and what you can carry in change from one facility to the next. This is the document those local supplements are built on, so it tells you which rules come down from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) and which ones the institution wrote itself. The 2023 change notice at the top is the part families keep needing: nobody can be turned away over sanitary products, and there has to be a plan for reaching a lawyer when the place goes on lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped). Read this, then the facility's supplement, then [the Facebook group](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups), because the group knows which rules the lobby officer actually enforces. **A local supplement almost certainly applies** Wardens issue institution supplements to fill in whatever national policy leaves up to the facility, and this is one of the policies they supplement most often. What's below is the national floor. The supplement is the version staff actually work from day to day: the hours, the limits, the forms, the local exceptions. It can't contradict the policy below, but it can be far more specific than anything on this page, and it's usually where the rule you can't find here lives. No supplements are posted on this site yet. They're written facility by facility and the BOP doesn't publish them in one place, so they go up as I get current copies. Until then, the person inside can ask their unit team (the staff who run your daily life) for the institution supplement to PS 5267.09, usually numbered with the facility's code in front of it and kept in the law library. [The facility's Facebook group](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups) is the other place people find out what the local version says. CHANGE NOTICE CN-1, AUGUST 1, 2023 (EXCERPT) This Change Notice (CN) implements changes to Program Statement 5267.09, Visiting Regulations, dated December 10, 2015. This CN establishes procedures for ensuring inmates have access to legal counsel during a significant disruptive event. In addition, per the First Step Act, no visitor can be prohibited from visiting an inmate due to the use of sanitary (i.e. feminine hygiene) products. The inserted text is marked in highlight. > This is in here because it kept happening. Women were getting turned around in the lobby, after a long drive, over a tampon or a pad setting off the scanner or showing up on a pat search. Congress put it in the First Step Act and in 2023 the BOP finally wrote it into the visiting policy. If a front lobby officer tries it on you, stay calm, ask for the operations lieutenant (a shift supervisor above the guards), and say you'd like the 5267.09 CN-1 language checked. Print this page and keep it in the car. CHANGE NOTICE CN-1, SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) c. Institution Supplement. Each institution will develop local procedures and guidelines required to administer this Program Statement. The institution will involve the Regional Office, Correctional Services Administrator, in developing the Institution Supplement. Procedures to ensure inmates can access legal counsel as soon as it is safely possible after a facilities issue or other disruptive event. Procedures for notifying inmate families and the public when deviation from the visitation schedule occurs. Procedures that no visitor is prohibited from visiting an incarcerated individual due to such visitor's use of sanitary (i.e. feminine hygiene)products. Guidance on providing a private area for nursing as nursing infants are permitted in the visiting room. CHANGE NOTICE CN-1, SECTION 10: ATTORNEY VISITS (EXCERPT) Alternative Legal Access Arrangements. To ensure inmates have access to legal counsel as soon as it is safely possible after a significant or disruptive event at a facility exceeds 24 hours, each facility will develop alternative legal access arrangements. These plans may include, but are not limited to, alternative visiting locations at the facility, expansion of normal visiting hours, and any additional procedures consistent with the mission and security of the facility. Restriction of legal access should occur only when necessary to protect the safety and security of employees, inmates, or the public. > This is the whole reason CN-1 exists. Facilities were going on lockdown for weeks and people with active appeals, filing deadlines, or upcoming sentencings just lost contact with their lawyers. The 24-hour mark is the trigger. After that the facility is supposed to have a plan on paper. Note what this does not say: it doesn't say the visit happens in 24 hours. It says the facility has to have written down how it would happen. The lever that actually works is the attorney calling the institution, not the family calling. If your person has counsel, tell counsel. Notification of Visiting Disruption. In instances where there is a significant or disruptive event affecting the conditions of confinement and, institution management decides to restrict legal and/or social visiting, employees must make all reasonable efforts to notify all known parties affected by the disruption. This includes, but is not limited to inmate families, defense counsel, local courts, and the public. For facilities housing pretrial inmates, such notice must also be made to the local Federal Public Defender Office(s), the local United States District Court(s), and the local United States Attorney's Office(s). This information can be transmitted via telephone, email, or listed on the Institution's webpage. > Read that as: posting it on the website counts as telling you. Nobody is calling you. Before you drive four hours on a Saturday morning, check the facility's page on bop.gov and call the institution's main number. This is the single most common wasted trip families make. SECTION 1: PURPOSE AND SCOPE § 540.40 (EXCERPT) The Bureau of Prisons encourages visiting by family, friends, and community groups to maintain the morale of the inmate and to develop closer relationships between the inmate and family members or others in the community. The Warden shall develop procedures consistent with this rule to permit inmate visiting. The Warden may restrict inmate visiting when necessary to ensure the security and good order of the institution. > This sentence is worth more than it looks. When you're arguing for a visit, an exception, or a special visit, this is the policy's own stated purpose and you should quote it back. The agency is on record saying visiting is good for the institution, not a favor to you. Due to practical considerations and the different characteristics of institutions, certain limitations and controls must be established in developing and administering visiting regulations. The extent of these limitations will vary with each institution, and are recognized as reasons upon which visiting restrictions may be based. These limitations will be specified in the Institution Supplement. The Warden has the authority to restrict or suspend an inmate's regular visiting privileges temporarily when there is reasonable suspicion that the inmate has acted in a way that would indicate a threat to the good order or security of the institution. Ordinarily, the duration of the restriction or suspension should be limited to the time required to investigate and complete the discipline process. > Visits can be shut off before anybody is found guilty of anything, while an investigation runs. That's legal under this policy. What the policy also says is that it's supposed to end when the discipline process ends. If your person beat the shot (a disciplinary write-up) or already served the sanction and visits still aren't back on, that's the sentence to point at when you write the unit manager (the boss of your housing unit). Reasonable suspicion exists when reliable information and/or facts are presented to the Warden that the inmate is engaged, or attempting to engage, in criminal or other prohibited behavior. Reasonable suspicion must be directed to the inmate(s)/visitor(s) in question. > Meaning it has to be about your person specifically. "There's been a lot of contraband coming through the visiting room lately" is not reasonable suspicion aimed at anybody. It gets used that way anyway, but the policy language is narrower than the practice, and knowing that is the difference between an angry phone call and a useful one. In determining reasonable suspicion, employees should consider whether the available information could reasonably lead a person with correctional experience to suspect that the inmate is engaged in criminal or other prohibited behavior. (See Section 13.c. of this Program Statement for reference to inmates in detention or segregation status.) c. Institution Supplement. Each institution will develop local procedures and guidelines required to administer this Program Statement. The institution will involve the Regional Office, Correctional Services Administrator, in developing the Institution Supplement. > This is the most important paragraph in the document and it's buried on page four. The program statement (an official BOP policy document) is the national floor. The Institution Supplement is the local rulebook, and it's the one the officer in the front lobby is actually working from: dress code, what you can bring, how many people at a table, whether you visit Saturday or Sunday. Two facilities that look identical on paper run visiting completely differently. Get the supplement for the specific facility. Everything else is guessing. The Institution Supplement must be available in English and Spanish. > If you're a Spanish-speaking family and you've been handed nothing you can read, this line is your ask. It's a requirement, not a courtesy. The Institution Supplement will include, at a minimum, the following considerations: The visiting schedule for the institution, including all of its components (satellite camp, jail, etc.), if they differ. Holdover visiting procedures (time frame for approval; who is permitted to visit, etc.). Procedures addressing special visitors (i.e., minister of record and clergy visits). Procedures for disapproving proposed visitors. Procedures for approving any exception to the prior relationship requirement. The method by which employees will make written guidelines available to visitors. Limitations specific to the institution (e.g., visiting space, frequency of visits, number of visitors). Identify employees responsible for arranging and supervising special visits. Procedures to maintain a record of visitors for each inmate. Procedures for a backup system to the computer visiting program. Facility address/phone number, directions to the facility, and information about local transportation. Days and hours of visitation. Approved dress code. Identification requirements for visitors. Items authorized in the visiting room. Special rules for children. Authorized items that visitors may bring to give to the inmate, if applicable. Special visit requirements. Procedures for storing items not authorized in the visiting room (cellphones, car keys, handbags, etc.). > Assume nothing comes in with you. Phone, wallet, purse, keys, jacket, everything goes in a locker in the lobby or stays in the car. Bring quarters if the lockers take quarters, because plenty still do, and a single car key rather than your whole ring. Money for the vending machines usually has to be in a clear bag and there is usually a dollar limit. All of that is local, all of it is in the supplement, and all of it will get you turned away if you get it wrong. Visiting procedures for inmates assigned to the Special Housing Unit. Visiting procedures for inmates hospitalized in the community. Procedures for child areas (e.g., whether inmates are permitted in areas designated for children). The size and quantity of any clear plastic container/bag used to carry authorized items into a visiting room. SECTION 5: VISITING FACILITIES § 540.41 (EXCERPT) The Warden shall have the visiting room arranged so as to provide adequate supervision, adapted to the degree of security required by the type of institution. The Warden shall ensure that the visiting area is as comfortable and pleasant as practicable, and appropriately furnished and arranged. If space is available, the Warden shall have a portion of the visiting room equipped and set up to provide facilities for the children of visitors. a. Institutions of minimum and low security levels may permit visits beyond the security perimeter, but always under supervision of staff. > This is the practical difference between a camp or a low and everything above it. At minimum and low security, weather permitting, visiting can happen outside at picnic tables. If you're bringing kids, that matters enormously. A four-year-old can run around outside for three hours. A four-year-old cannot sit still in a plastic chair in a fluorescent-lit room for three hours. I did my time at a low and outdoor visiting was the single biggest quality-of-life difference for the families who came. b. Institutions of medium and high security levels, and administrative institutions may establish outdoor visiting, but it will always be inside the security perimeter and always under supervision of staff. Reasonable accommodations should be made to ensure that all parts of the visiting area accessible to the public are also accessible to visitors and inmates with disabilities. SECTION 6: VISITING TIMES § 540.42 (EXCERPT) a. Each Warden shall establish a visiting schedule for the institution. At a minimum, the Warden shall establish visiting hours at the institution on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The restriction of visiting to these days may be a hardship for some families and arrangements for other suitable hours shall be made to the extent practicable. Where staff resources permit, the Warden may establish evening visiting hours. > Weekends and federal holidays are the guaranteed floor. Weekdays and evenings exist at some facilities and not others. Holidays are real: Thanksgiving and Christmas visiting happens, it's usually the most crowded day of the year, and you want to be in the lobby line early. b. Consistent with available resources, such as space limitations and staff availability, and with concerns of institution security, the Warden may limit the visiting period. With respect to weekend visits, for example, some or all inmates and visitors may be limited to visiting on Saturday or on Sunday, but not on both days, in order to accommodate the volume of visitors. There is no requirement that every visitor has the opportunity to visit on both days of the weekend, nor that every inmate has the opportunity to have visits on both days of the weekend. > This is where visiting point systems come from. Lots of facilities split the population, by unit, by register number, by odd and even, so you get one weekend day and not the other. Some run a monthly points allowance where each visit costs points. None of that is in the national policy, all of it is local, and it's legal because of this sentence. To the extent practicable, and consistent with available resources and concerns for institution security, the Warden is encouraged to establish visiting and/or attempt to accommodate a visitor who can only visit on a specific weekend day. SECTION 7: FREQUENCY OF VISITS AND NUMBER OF VISITORS § 540.43 (EXCERPT) The Warden shall allow each inmate a minimum of four hours visiting time per month. The Warden may limit the length or frequency of visits only to avoid chronic overcrowding. The Warden may establish a guideline for the maximum number of persons who may visit an inmate at one time, to prevent overcrowding in the visiting room or unusual difficulty in supervising a visit. Exceptions may be made to any local guideline when indicated by special circumstances, such as distance the visitor must travel, frequency of the inmate's visits, or health problems of the inmate or visitor. > Here's your leverage if you live far away. The policy specifically names travel distance, how rarely your person gets visits, and health problems as reasons to break the local rules. If you're flying in from another state twice a year, that is exactly the situation this sentence was written for. Ask before you book, in writing, through your person's case manager (the staffer who controls your release date). > Four hours a month. That's the actual federal guarantee, and it's worth knowing because it's so much lower than people assume. In practice most camps and lows give far more than that. But when a consultant tells you they'll make sure your person gets weekly visits, this line is what they're promising against, and the answer is that nobody can promise it. The Warden may establish a limit, consistent with available resources, on the number of visits an inmate may receive and/or the number of visiting hours (in excess of four) allotted to the inmate each month. Due to space limitations, limits on visiting may be necessary when an inmate has numerous regular visitors living in the vicinity of the institution. Where facilities permit, the Warden may allow family groups to visit. The Warden may also authorize special visits to accommodate unique circumstances (e.g., a person traveling a long distance to visit, a person visiting a hospitalized inmate). > A special visit is the mechanism, and almost nobody on the outside knows it exists. It can mean visiting on a day that isn't your day, extra hours, or more people at the table than the local limit. How it happens: your person asks the unit team, in writing, well in advance, with the dates and the flight or drive details. Not you calling the institution. The request has to come from inside. Start three to four weeks out, not the Tuesday before. SECTION 8: REGULAR VISITORS § 540.44 (EXCERPT) An inmate desiring to have regular visitors must submit a list of proposed visitors to the designated staff. See §540.45 for qualification as special visitor. Staff are to compile a visiting list for each inmate after suitable investigation in accordance with §540.51(b) of this part. The list may include: a. Members of the Immediate Family. These persons include mother, father, step-parents, foster parents, brothers and sisters, spouse, and children. These individuals are placed on the visiting list, absent strong circumstances that preclude visiting. > Immediate family is the easy tier. Parents, step-parents, foster parents, siblings, spouse, kids. "Absent strong circumstances" means they go on unless there's a real reason, and they usually skip the questionnaire and the long background wait. Note who isn't on this list: grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws, cousins, and anyone you aren't married to. Those are all the next tier down. The word "spouse" includes a common-law relationship that has been previously established in a state that recognizes such a status. In states that do not, a common-law relationship is not considered "immediate family." For determination of applicable state laws, the Regional Counsel should be consulted. Failure to obtain acknowledgment of parent or legal guardian may preclude the addition of children to the visiting list. When deemed appropriate, background checks may also be completed on immediate family members. For determination of applicable state laws, the Regional Counsel should be consulted. > If you aren't legally married, whether you count as a spouse depends on the law of your state, and most states don't recognize common-law marriage anymore. If yours doesn't, you're going on the list as a friend, which means you needed to have known them before they were locked up and you're going through the full background process. This catches long-term partners constantly and it is a miserable thing to find out in month two. I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice, but if this is your situation, it's worth asking their attorney about before they self-surrender. b. Other Relatives. These persons include grandparents, uncles, aunts, in-laws, and cousins. They may be placed on the approved list if the inmate wishes to have visits from them regularly and if there exists no reason to exclude them. c. Friends and Associates. The visiting privilege ordinarily will be extended to friends and associates having an established relationship with the inmate prior to confinement, unless such visits could reasonably create a threat to the security and good order of the institution. Exceptions to the prior relationship rule may be made, particularly for inmates without other visitors, when it is shown that the proposed visitor is reliable and poses no threat to the security or good order of the institution. > The prior relationship rule. Friends have to have known them before they went in. This is why the visiting list should get built before self-surrender (reporting to prison on your own), while everyone still has a phone and an address and nobody is trying to coordinate it through 15-minute phone calls. Regardless of the institution's security level, the inmate must have known the proposed visitor(s) prior to incarceration. The Warden must approve any exception to this requirement. See Section 14.b.(2) of this Program Statement regarding background investigations for proposed visitors. Ordinarily, an inmate's visiting list should not list more than 10 friends and associates. The Warden may make an exception to this provision when warranted. > Ten friends is the soft cap, and family doesn't count against it. "Ordinarily" and "may make an exception" mean the number is real but not sacred. If somebody on the list has stopped coming, take them off and use the slot. Lists are changeable, and people treat them like they're carved in stone. d. Persons with Prior Criminal Convictions. The existence of a criminal conviction alone does not preclude visits. Staff shall give consideration to the nature, extent, and recentness of convictions, as weighed against the security considerations of the institution. Specific approval of the Warden may be required before such visits take place. > A record doesn't automatically disqualify you. It gets weighed: how bad, how much, how long ago. It does mean the Warden may have to personally sign off, and it means your approval will take longer than everyone else's. Don't lie on the form about it. They run NCIC either way, and getting caught lying is a much worse outcome than the conviction itself. Ordinarily, employees should obtain written authorization from the appropriate Federal or state probation/parole official prior to approving visitation privileges for an individual on probation, parole, or supervised release. A copy of this authorization will be maintained in section 2 of the Privacy Folder in the Inmate Central File. > If you're on supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole), probation, or parole yourself, you need your officer's written permission before you can visit anybody. Two separate agencies have to say yes, and neither one will chase the other. Get the letter from your probation officer (who supervises you after release) first and make sure it lands in the hands of the unit counselor (front-line staffer for phone, visits, jobs) processing the list. I've been on the supervision side of this. The paperwork moves at the speed of whoever cares least, so be the person who cares. See Section 14.b.(2) of this Program Statement regarding background investigations for proposed visitors. e. Children Under Sixteen. Children under the age of 16 may not visit unless accompanied by a responsible adult. Children shall be kept under supervision of a responsible adult or a children's program. Exceptions in unusual circumstances may be made by special approval of the Warden. The signature of a parent or legal guardian on the Visitor Information form (BP-A0629) is necessary to process a request for an applicant under 18 years of age. Ordinarily, completing the questionnaire portion of this form (items 1 through 14) is not required if such an applicant is a verified immediate family member of the requesting inmate. > Kids under 16 need an adult with them, and anyone under 18 needs a parent or legal guardian to sign their form. If the parents are split up and the other parent won't sign, that's a real wall, and this policy doesn't solve it for you. Bring the kids' birth certificates or a copy the first time. Some lobbies ask for them, some don't, and it's better to have them in the folder. SECTION 9: QUALIFICATION AS SPECIAL VISITOR § 540.45 (EXCERPT) a. Business Visitor. Except for pretrial inmates, an inmate is not permitted to engage actively in a business or profession. An inmate who was engaged in a business or profession prior to commitment is expected to assign authority for the operation of such business or profession to a person in the community. Pretrial inmates may be allowed special visitors for the purpose of protecting the pretrial inmate's business interests. In those instances where an inmate has turned over the operation of a business or profession to another person, there still may be an occasion where a decision must be made which will substantially affect the assets or prospects of the business. The Warden accordingly may permit a special business visit in such cases. The Warden may waive the requirement for the existence of an established relationship prior to confinement for visitors approved under this paragraph. > There's a narrow exception for a genuinely big decision, a sale, a shutdown, something that moves the whole company. It's a one-off special visit, not a standing arrangement, and the ask goes through the unit team with an explanation of why it can't wait or be handled by the person you assigned. Note also that a business visitor doesn't need to have known them before, which is unusual. > If you own a business, you're expected to hand the keys to somebody on the outside before you go in. You cannot run it from inside. This gets people written up, because it's easy to drift into it: approving an invoice on a phone call, telling your wife which vendor to pay, answering a question over TRULINCS (the inmate email/phone/money system, all monitored). Everything on the phone and on the messaging system is monitored and recorded, so it isn't a question of whether they'd find out. Sign the authority over before you self-surrender, cleanly, and put it in writing. b. Consular Visitors. When it has been determined that an inmate is a citizen of a foreign country, the Warden must permit the consular representative of that country to visit on matters of legitimate business. The Warden may not withhold this privilege even though the inmate is in disciplinary status. The requirement for the existence of an established relationship prior to confinement does not apply to consular visitors. > If your person is a foreign national, their consulate can visit and the facility cannot block it, even if they're in the SHU (solitary) or have lost visiting privileges. "Must" and "may not withhold" are strong words in this document and they barely appear anywhere else. For families of non-citizens, the consulate is a real channel and it's badly underused. (1) Minister of Record. An inmate wanting to receive visits from his/her minister of record must submit a written request to the Chaplain. Upon approval, unit employees add the name and title (minister of record) to the inmate's visitor list. An inmate may only have one minister of record on his/her visiting list at a time. The addition of the minister of record will not count against the total number of authorized regular visitors an inmate is allowed to have on his/her visiting list, and will not count against the total number of social visits allowed. > A minister of record is free visiting. One per person, requested in writing through the chaplain (staffer who runs religion and delivers bad news) rather than the unit team, and it doesn't eat a slot on the ten-friend list or burn one of the month's visits. If your family has a pastor, priest, rabbi, or imam who would actually show up, this is worth setting up. Regular clergy who aren't the minister of record do count against the normal limits. SECTION 10: ATTORNEY VISITS § 540.46 (EXCERPT) Employees may not subject visits between an attorney and an inmate to auditory supervision. To the extent practicable, attorney visits, for both pretrial and sentenced inmates, are to take place in a private conference room. However, areas designated for attorney visits will be arranged so as to provide adequate unobstructed visual supervision. > An attorney visit isn't listened to. They can watch, they can't record or eavesdrop. This is the only genuinely private conversation in the building. Understand the contrast: the inmate phones are recorded, TRULINCS messages are monitored, the visiting room is supervised, and even a call to an attorney on the regular inmate phone is a recorded call unless it's been set up as an unmonitored legal call in advance. If something actually needs to be private, it happens in a legal visit. Where such a room is not available, the attorney visit may occur in a regular visiting room, provided the inmate and the inmate's attorney have a degree of separation from other visitors. SECTION 12: TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE § 540.49 (EXCERPT) The Warden shall ensure that directions for transportation to and from the institution are provided for the approved visitor (see §540.51(b)(4)). Directions for transportation to and from the institution and pay phone service, with commercial transportation phone numbers posted, are also to be made available at the institution to assist visitors. If pay phone service is not available, the visitor is to ensure transportation is arranged prior to the visit. > Translation: figure out your ride home before you get there. A lot of these places are an hour from the nearest town, cell coverage in the parking lot is often bad or nonexistent, and rideshare coverage ranges from thin to imaginary. If you're flying in and relying on a phone to get back, confirm the return trip before you walk into the lobby and hand your phone over to a locker. SECTION 13: VISITS TO INMATES NOT IN REGULAR POPULATION STATUS § 540.50 (EXCERPT) a. Admission and Holdover Status. The Warden may limit to the immediate family of the inmate visits during the admission-orientation period or for holdovers where there is neither a visiting list from a transferring institution nor other verification of proposed visitors. > During A&O (your disorienting first days of intake), the first couple of weeks, visiting can be restricted to immediate family only. There may also be no approved list yet at all, because the list gets built during A&O. This is the stretch where families panic. It is normal, it is temporary, and it is not a sign that anything went wrong. Immediate family should bring ID and expect to be told to come back. b. Hospital Patients (1) When visitors request to see an inmate who is hospitalized in the institution, the Chief Medical Officer (or, in his absence, the Health Services Administrator), in consultation with the Captain, shall determine whether a visit may occur, and if so, whether it may be held in the hospital. When a visit is denied because the inmate is suffering from an infectious disease, is in a psychotic or emotional episode that makes a visit inadvisable, or is otherwise not in a condition to see visitors, the situation is to be carefully and sensitively explained to the approved visitor. Notification to the visitor will be addressed in the Institution Supplement. Documentation is maintained in section 2 of the Privacy Folder in the Inmate Central File. Inmates with medical conditions will be reviewed by the Chief Medical Officer or, in his/her absence, the Health Services Administrator, in consultation with the Captain, to determine whether visiting will be permitted. Visiting procedures for inmates with medical conditions will be addressed in the Institution Supplement. (2) Visits to inmates hospitalized in the community may be restricted to only the immediate family and are subject to the general visiting policy of that hospital. > If your person is taken to an outside hospital, visiting gets narrow fast: immediate family, plus the hospital's own rules, plus whatever the escorting officers decide is workable. Don't drive to the hospital on your own and expect to be let in. Call the institution and ask to speak to the duty officer (the staffer on call after hours) if it's after hours. c. Detention or Segregation Status. Ordinarily, an inmate retains visiting privileges while in detention or segregation status. Visiting may be restricted or disallowed, however, when an inmate, while in detention or segregation status, is charged with, or has been found to have committed, a prohibited act having to do with visiting guidelines or has otherwise acted in a way that would reasonably indicate that he or she would be a threat to the orderliness or security of the visiting room. > Being in the SHU does not automatically cancel visiting. That surprises people. The visits usually become non-contact, through glass, on a different schedule and often on a weekday, but the right doesn't disappear just because they got moved. Call the institution and ask what the SHU visiting procedure is. It's in the Institution Supplement. Loss of an inmate's visiting privileges for other reasons may not occur unless the inmate is provided a hearing before the Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) in accordance with the provisions of §541.17 of this chapter, following those provisions which are appropriate to the circumstances, which results in a finding by the DHO that the inmate committed a prohibited act and that there is a lack of other appropriate sanctions or that imposition of an appropriate sanction previously has been ineffective. The Unit Discipline Committee (UDC) may not impose a loss of visiting privileges for inmates in detention or segregation status. The provisions of this paragraph (c) do not interrupt or delay a loss of visiting sanction imposed by the UDC or DHO prior to the inmate's placement in detention or segregation status. > There's a real limit here that families should know. Once they're in segregation, the UDC (the unit-level hearing for minor write-ups), the unit-level hearing for minor stuff, cannot take their visits. Only the DHO (the officer who hears serious write-ups) can, at a real hearing, with a finding, and only when there's no other appropriate sanction. If visits vanished after a unit-level write-up while they were in the SHU, something is off. That's an administrative remedy question, and it's one worth asking about calmly and in writing. SECTION 14: PROCEDURES § 540.51 (EXCERPT) b. Preparation of the List of Visitors. (1) Staff shall ask each inmate to submit during the admission-orientation process a list of proposed visitors. After appropriate investigation, staff shall compile a visiting list for each inmate and distribute that list to the inmate and the visiting room officer. > The list gets started in the first days, when they're the most disoriented they will ever be and have no phone and no address book. So write it out before they go in: every name, full legal name as it appears on the ID, date of birth, full address, phone number, relationship, and whether they have a record. On paper, in their property or already mailed to them. This one piece of prep saves families about a month. An inmate will be provided written material on the institution's visiting procedures during the intake screening process. At a minimum, the information will include the following: The initial visiting list is prepared and distributed as soon as practicable after receiving the required information to process the visiting list. This list identifies immediate family members approved to visit the inmate. Additional family members and friends may be added following the completion of an appropriate investigation. > Immediate family gets approved first and fast. Everybody else waits on a background check. So the sequence in real life is: mom and the wife can come in a couple weeks, the best friend from high school shows up on the list six or eight weeks later. Plan the first few visits around the people who'll clear first. Visiting privileges for a minister of record must be submitted directly to the Chaplaincy Services Department for review and approval/denial. Whenever a person is deleted from or added to an inmate's visitor list, employees update the list as soon as possible to reflect the change. A copy of the most current approved visiting list will be placed in section 3 of the Inmate Central File. Likewise, if an inmate elects not to have any visitors, he/she will be asked to sign a visiting list indicating no visitors are requested. This form is filed in section 3 of the Inmate Central File. > Some people do this, especially early, out of shame more than anything else. If your person says they don't want you to see them in there, that's common and it usually passes. It's also reversible. The list can be amended any time, and signing this form isn't a permanent decision. (2) Staff may request background information from potential visitors who are not members of the inmate's immediate family, before placing them on the inmate's approved visiting list. When little or no information is available on the inmate's potential visitor, visiting may be denied, pending receipt and review of necessary information, including information which is available about the inmate and/or the inmate's offense, including alleged offenses. The Visitor Information form (BP-A0629) is used to request background information and obtain the visitor's consent to release information. This form will be filed in section 2 of the Privacy Folder in the Inmate Central File. Regardless of the institution's security level, employees should obtain background information on potential visitors, to include Minister of Record. This is required in the Medium, High, and Administrative institutions due to their greater security needs. The Warden or designee may make an exception to this procedure when warranted. > Background checks are supposed to happen everywhere but are mandatory at medium and above. Practically, that means approvals at a camp or a low can be quicker and looser than at a medium. It also means that if they get transferred up in security, visitors who slid through before can get looked at again. I did my time at a low, so mediums and above are outside what I lived, but the paperwork asymmetry is right there in the text. Employees in institutions housing pretrial offenders are strongly encouraged to complete a background check (NCIC) on potential visitors due to limited information received on these individuals. Background checks may also be completed on immediate family members. The inmate is to mail the BP-A0629 to his/her proposed visitor(s). The proposed visitor must complete this form and mail it directly to the unit employees responsible for processing the inmate's visiting list. Employees should advise the inmate to provide his/her proposed visitor with the employee's name and address. > Here's the actual flow, which nobody explains. They mail you the form, BP-A0629. You fill it out and mail it back directly to the staff member, not to them. Get that staff member's name and mailing address from them before you send anything, because a form mailed to the wrong person or to the generic institution address goes into a pile. Make a copy of what you send and write down the date. When someone says the form never arrived two months later, and they will, that copy is the whole conversation. One oddity you'll notice reading the original: "staff member" is struck through and replaced with "employee" all over this document. That's a 2023 agency-wide word swap, not a change in the rule. If necessary, employees will either send the Request for Conviction Information form (BP- A0311) to the appropriate law enforcement agency to gather additional background information or complete a background check using the (NCIC). Periodic background checks are to be conducted every two years by regenerating the background check and reviewing it for new criminal activity. > Approval isn't permanent. Every two years they re-run you. If you pick up a charge, a DUI, anything, while your husband is inside, expect it to surface on the re-check and expect to be asked about it. Not automatically disqualifying. Definitely not something to hide. Visitor Information forms, Request for Conviction Information forms, and NCIC background information will be maintained in section 2 of the Privacy Folder of the Inmate Central File. When an inmate transfers from one institution to another, employees do not need to reapprove the visitors already contained on the inmate's visiting list. However, employees will need to review the visiting list to ensure the approved visitors are still appropriate based on the institution's security level and any local requirements identified by the Warden. Additionally, background checks greater than two years old are to be regenerated and reviewed for new criminal activity. When possible, the unit team should be consulted prior to approval of a visitor not on the inmate's approved visiting list. > Good news for transfers: the list travels with them. You do not start over. In practice there's still a lag while the new facility processes them and pulls up their file, so the first couple of weeks after a transfer are usually a dead zone for visiting. That's normal. Also note the caveat: the new place reviews the list against its own security level, so a visitor who was fine at a low isn't automatically fine at a higher-security facility. (4) Staff shall notify the inmate of each approval or disapproval of a requested person for the visiting list. Upon approval of each visitor, staff shall provide the inmate with a copy of the visiting guidelines and with directions for transportation to and from the institution. The inmate is responsible for notifying the visitor of the approval or disapproval to visit and is expected to provide the approved visitor with a copy of the visiting guidelines and directions for transportation to and from the institution. The visiting guidelines shall include specific directions for reaching the institution and shall cite 18 U.S.C. 1791, which provides a penalty of imprisonment for not more than twenty years, a fine, or both for providing or attempting to provide to an inmate anything whatsoever without the knowledge and consent of the Warden. > Read that number again. Twenty years, for the visitor. Not the inmate, the visitor. And read "anything whatsoever" literally: it isn't just drugs and phones. A stick of gum, a note, a photo you slid across the table, cash in a handshake. The serious end of that statute is aimed at drugs and weapons, but the sign on the wall isn't a bluff, and people do get arrested in prison parking lots. Whatever they ask you to bring in, the answer is no. If they push, that's a conversation about what's happening to them inside, not about the item. > Nobody from the prison is going to call and tell you that you were approved. They tell your person. Your person tells you. That's the whole notification system. So don't sit around waiting for a letter from the BOP that is never coming, and don't drive out on a hunch. Wait until they confirm you're on the list, and get them to read you the local rules while you're on the phone. d. Identification of Visitors. Staff shall verify the identity of each visitor (through driver's license, photo identification, etc.) prior to admission of the visitor to the institution. Photo Identification must be a valid state or government-issued photo identification. > Valid means unexpired, and they check. A work badge, a student ID, or a photo of your license on your phone will not get you in. If your license expired last month, deal with that before you plan the trip. Kids under 16 with a parent or guardian don't need photo ID, though some facilities still want a birth certificate, which is a local rule. Visitors under the age of 16 who are accompanied by a parent or legal guardian are exempt from this provision. e. Notification to Visitors. Staff shall make available to all visitors written guidelines for visiting the institution. Staff shall have the visitor sign a statement acknowledging that the guidelines were provided and declaring that the visitor does not have any article in his/her possession which the visitor knows to be a threat to the security of the institution. Staff may deny the visiting privilege to a visitor who refuses to make such a declaration. > That form you sign in the lobby without reading is a declaration that you aren't carrying anything you know to be a threat. Refuse to sign it and you don't visit. It also means the "I didn't know" defense gets thinner the moment you sign it, so actually read the guidelines the first time and empty your pockets in the parking lot, not at the desk. Visiting room employees are to make the institution's written guidelines for visiting available to visitors. The Notification to Visitor form (BP-A0224) may be retrieved via the Sallyport Policy/Forms page. f. Searching Visitors. Staff may require a visitor to submit to a personal search, including a search of any items of personal property, as a condition of allowing or continuing a visit. > Expect a metal detector and a pat search every time. Some facilities also run an ion scanner, which swabs for drug residue and throws false positives off things like handled cash and some medications. If you're picked for a more invasive search you can say no, and then you don't visit that day. That's the trade the word "condition" is doing. If a search felt out of line, ask for the lieutenant while you're still there, and write down names and times before you forget them. Refer to the Program Statement Searching, Detaining, or Arresting Visitors to Bureau Grounds and Facilities for additional instructions on this subject. g. Record of Visitors. The Warden shall maintain a record of visitors to each inmate. The visitor's signature may be required on that record and shall be required on at least one visiting log or record maintained by the institution. h. Supervision of Visits. Staff shall supervise each inmate visit to prevent the passage of contraband and to ensure the security and good order of the institution. The Warden may establish procedures to enable monitoring of the visiting area, including restrooms located within the visiting area. The Warden must provide notice to both visitors and inmates of the potential for monitoring the visiting area. The Warden may monitor a visitor restroom within the visiting area when there is reasonable suspicion that a visitor and/or an inmate is engaged, or attempting or about to engage, in criminal behavior or other prohibited behavior. > The visiting room is watched, including cameras, and that's not a secret. The bathrooms are the narrow case: they can be physically monitored, but only with the warden's written approval, only on reasonable suspicion about specific people, and only by staff of the same sex. Practical version: assume you're on camera the entire time you're in the building and behave accordingly, and know that the restroom exception has actual conditions attached to it. Visitor restrooms may be monitored physically only with the Warden's written approval, and only after it is determined that there is a reasonable suspicion that the visitor or inmate is engaged, or attempting to engage, in a criminal activity or other prohibited behavior. Physical monitoring should be conducted by a person of the same sex as the visitor using the restroom. Other restrooms may be inspected and monitored as needed for security purposes. Refer to the Program Statement Searching, Detaining, or Arresting Visitors to Bureau Grounds and Facilities for further information regarding "reasonable suspicion." (1) The visiting room officer shall ensure that all visits are conducted in a quiet, orderly, and dignified manner. The visiting room officer may terminate visits that are not conducted in the appropriate manner. See 28 CFR §541.12, item 5, for description of an inmate's responsibility during visits. > One officer can end your visit, on the spot, for behavior. Loud arguing, a screaming toddler nobody is managing, sitting the wrong way, too much contact, wandering out of your assigned seats. "Appropriate manner" means whatever that officer thinks it means that day. The one piece of leverage in this paragraph is the last line: they're supposed to consult the lieutenant or the duty officer before terminating. Do not argue with the officer in the visiting room. You will lose, and so will they, after you leave. (2) Staff shall permit limited physical contact, such as handshaking, embracing, and kissing, between an inmate and a visitor, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that such contact would jeopardize the safety or security of the institution. Where contact visiting is provided, handshaking, embracing, and kissing are ordinarily permitted within the bounds of good taste and only at the beginning and at the end of the visit. The staff may limit physical contact to minimize opportunity for the introduction of contraband and to maintain the orderly operation of the visiting area. > A hug and a kiss hello, a hug and a kiss goodbye. That's it. In between you sit across from each other and keep your hands on the table. This is the rule that surprises couples the most, and getting cute with it is how people lose visiting privileges for months. Small kids usually get more latitude, sitting on a lap and so on, and how much is local. Ask before you assume. An inmate who has been approved for, and is awaiting placement in the ADX-Florence Control Unit, may be limited to non-contact visits. (3) The visiting room officer may not accept articles or gifts of any kind for an inmate, except packages which have had prior approval by the Warden or a designated staff member. All authorized items entering the visiting room must be carried in a clear plastic container/bag. An inmate's visitor may not leave money with any employees for deposit in the inmate's commissary account. Refer to the Program Statement Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual for additional information on accepting packages. > You can't hand anyone at the prison cash for their account. Money goes in through the approved channels: the lockbox address in Des Moines, or one of the electronic services. It isn't complicated, and anyone charging you a consulting fee to explain it is charging you for a form you can fill out yourself. Same for gifts: you don't bring things in. Books and magazines come from an approved vendor, direct from the publisher, not out of your bag. SECTION 15: PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF VISITING REGULATIONS § 540.52 (EXCERPT) Any act or effort to violate the visiting guidelines of an institution may result in disciplinary action against the inmate, which may include the denial of future visits, possibly over an extended period of time. Moreover, criminal prosecution may be initiated against the visitor, the inmate, or both, in the case of criminal violations. In an effort to eliminate the introduction of drugs and drug paraphernalia into Bureau institutions, the Bureau will seek criminal prosecution against visitors who participate in contraband violations. Additionally, as a disincentive for inmates found guilty of these violations, the Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) or Unit Discipline Committee (UDC) may impose the loss of visiting privileges as a sanction. > Not "may." Will. On drugs specifically, the stated policy is prosecution of the visitor, and that's a new federal case with your name on it. Meanwhile they catch a shot and lose visiting for months or longer, which means the family loses them too. Whatever the item is worth, it is not worth this trade, and the person asking you for it is usually being pressured by someone else inside. That's worth knowing before you say yes. Refer to the Program Statement Inmate Discipline Program for information regarding loss of visiting privileges resulting from disciplinary action. SECTION 16: WALSH ACT REQUIREMENTS (EXCERPT) The Unit Team will evaluate all inmates on their caseload and all incoming inmates to determine if they have an inmate who has been convicted of a sex offense involving a minor (WA W CONV). Any inmate fitting this criterion will have the following annotation placed in the visiting program under the comments section: "this inmate was convicted of a sex offense involving a minor." Any inmate identified as having a Walsh Act assignment involving a minor will have his/her visits closely monitored. Specific procedures will be determined locally by the Warden. > If the conviction involved a minor, it gets flagged in the visiting system and visits get watched closely. What that means in practice is set locally, and it commonly includes restrictions or extra conditions on minors visiting, including their own kids. Families in this situation need the specific Institution Supplement and a direct conversation with the case manager, because this is the area where local practice varies the most and where guessing hurts the most. SECTION 17: VISITING REGULATIONS REGARDING PETS (EXCERPT) Visitors are precluded from bringing animals on to institutional grounds, except for animals that assist persons with disabilities. The visitor must provide employees with certification that the animal is trained for that purpose. > Service animals only, and bring paperwork. Emotional support animals are not service animals under this and you should assume the answer is no. If you use a service dog, call the institution ahead of the trip and ask what documentation the front lobby wants to see. Sorting that out over the phone on a Wednesday is much better than sorting it out at the door on a Saturday. Source: PS 5267.09 (8/1/2023), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5267.09cn-1.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5267.09cn-1.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/5330-11-psychology-treatment-programs-rdap # Psychology Treatment Programs (RDAP) PS 5330.11 (3/16/2009, with Change Notice CN-1 dated 4/25/2016) · [Official PDF on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5330.11-cn1.pdf) The residential drug program, the one that can take up to a year off for eligible people. Also the one consultants "coach" people into by inventing a substance history, which is fraud, and which people have been prosecuted for. If you genuinely qualify, the documentation requirements are in here. If you don't, no coaching fixes that; it just adds a charge. Three things worth knowing before you read. There are three separate drug programs, not one, and only the residential one carries the year. Getting into RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) and getting the year off are two different determinations under two different policies; this one covers admission, and the early-release criteria live in PS 5331.02, which isn't annotated here. And the document below is the 2009 policy with the 2016 change notice stacked on front, so the first two excerpts restate sections that appear again, differently worded, further down. The excerpts run in document order: what the three programs are, what disqualifies you, what documentation actually counts, and the four or five places the year quietly disappears after you've already done the work. If your person gets expelled over a shot, the disciplinary hearing is where it's decided, and [the grievance system](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/bop-program-statements/1330-18-administrative-remedy-program) is the only appeal. CHANGE NOTICE CN-1 (4/25/2016): § 550.50 PURPOSE AND SCOPE (EXCERPT) The purpose of this subpart is to describe the Bureau's drug abuse treatment programs for the inmate population, to include drug abuse education, non-residential drug abuse treatment services, and residential drug abuse treatment programs (RDAP). These services are provided by Psychology Services department. > Three tiers, not one. Drug Ed is a 12-hour class a lot of people are required to take. NR DAP is a weekly group, voluntary, no time off. RDAP is the residential one, and it's the only one that can take up to a year off a sentence. When someone says "the drug program," find out which of the three they mean. CHANGE NOTICE CN-1 (4/25/2016): § 550.53 RESIDENTIAL DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAM (RDAP) (EXCERPT) (1) Unit-based component. Inmates must complete a course of activities provided by the Psychology Services Department in a treatment unit set apart from the general prison population. This component must last at least six months. (3) Community Treatment Services (CTS). Inmates who have completed the unit-based program and (when appropriate) the follow-up treatment and transferred to a community-based program must complete CTS to have successfully completed RDAP and receive incentives [i.e., early release under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e), if applicable]. The Warden, on the basis of his or her discretion, may find an inmate ineligible for participation in a community-based program; therefore, the inmate cannot complete RDAP. > You can do nine to twelve months of RDAP, do it all right, and still not graduate. The warden can decide you don't go to a halfway house (the halfway house before release), and no halfway house means no community treatment, and that means you didn't complete RDAP. Written as pure discretion. Anyone selling you a guaranteed outcome has not read this sentence. REFERENCES (EXCERPT) Program Statements P1070.07 Research (5/12/99) P1351.05 Release of Information (9/9/02) P5100.08 Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification (9/12/06) P5331.02 Early Release Procedures Under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e) (3/16/09) > The rules about who actually gets the year off are not in this document. Which offenses disqualify you, how the time gets calculated: all of that lives in a separate policy, 5331.02. If that's your question, this isn't your document. Also worth saying: this policy is from 2009 and says nothing about how RDAP interacts with First Step Act credits (time off earned through programming). P5380.08 Financial Responsibility Program, Inmate (8/15/05) SECTION 1.3: CBT TREATMENT PROTOCOLS (EXCERPT) While self-help programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and Rational Recovery (RR) may be offered as part of an institution's drug abuse program effort, they are most often associated with non-residential (NR) treatment. While such programs are often powerful and important interventions in an inmate's recovery, they do not substitute for NR or residential treatment hours. They are considered a support to the Bureau's treatment protocols. > AA and NA count for nothing on paper. Not one hour of the 500. Guys stack up two years of meetings thinking it builds a case for something. It doesn't. If you want the credit, you have to be in the actual BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) program. SECTION 1.6.1: ADMINISTRATIVE ELEMENTS (EXCERPT) b. Rules and Consequences. Treatment staff must establish clear, unambiguous rules and consequences for breaking the rules. Staff must ensure that inmates are aware of what they are agreeing to on the Agreement to Participate. For example, inmates are reminded that immediate expulsion will likely occur (and is mandatory in the Residential Drug Abuse Program) if the DHO finds that they have committed a prohibited act involving: Alcohol or substances. Violence or threats of violence. Escape or attempted escape. Any 100-level series incident. > Four things end RDAP instantly: drugs or alcohol, violence or threats, escape, any 100-level shot (a disciplinary write-up). "Mandatory" means nobody in the building has discretion once the DHO (the officer who hears serious write-ups) makes the finding. Note it's the DHO finding that triggers it, not the write-up, so the disciplinary hearing is where the year is actually won or lost, and people walk into those unprepared. Furthermore, an inmate is reviewed for immediate expulsion if he/she has been found to break confidentiality or his/her behavior is of such magnitude that his/her continued presence in programming would create an immediate and ongoing disruption for staff or other inmates. SECTION 2.3.2: TARGET POPULATION, § 550.51(b) COURSE PLACEMENT (EXCERPT) (1) Inmates will get primary consideration for course placement if they were sentenced or returned to custody as a violator after September 30, 1991, when unit and/or drug abuse treatment staff determine, through interviews and file review that: (i) There is evidence that alcohol or other drug use contributed to the commission of the offense; (ii) Alcohol or other drug use was a reason for violation either of supervised release (including parole) or Bureau community status; that is, RRC placement for which the inmate is now incarcerated; (iii) There was a recommendation (or evaluation) for drug programming during incarceration by the sentencing judge; or (iv) There is evidence of a history of alcohol or other drug use. For example, the inmate's history of alcohol and/or drug use within the past 5 years is emphasized in the Presentence Investigation Report (PSR). > Your PSR (the report that follows you the whole sentence) decides this, and it decided it before you walked in the door. Staff read that document as fact for your entire sentence. Read it line by line before sentencing, while you can still object to what's in it. SECTION 2.3.6: DRUG ABUSE EDUCATION OPERATION, § 550.51(d) COMPLETION (EXCERPT) d. Completion. § 550.51(d). To complete the drug abuse education course, inmates must attend and participate during course sessions and pass a final course exam. Inmates will ordinarily have at least three chances to pass the final course exam before they lose privileges or the effects of non-participation occur (see paragraph (e) of this section). Completion of the DRUG ED course requires attendance of 12 to 15 hours, participation during sessions and successfully completing the course with 70% correct answers on the test. DRUG ED completions must be entered into SENTRY. § 550.51(e) EFFECTS OF NON-PARTICIPATION (EXCERPT) (1) If inmates considered for placement under paragraph (b)(1) of this section refuse participation, withdraw, are expelled, or otherwise fail to meet attendance and examination requirements, such inmates: (i) Are not eligible for performance pay above maintenance pay level, or for bonus pay, or vacation pay; and (ii) Are not eligible for a Federal Prison Industries work program assignment (unless the Warden makes an exception on the basis of work program labor needs). > Refusing Drug Ed when you're on the required list caps you at the bottom pay rate and locks you out of UNICOR (the better-paying prison work program), the best-paying work inside. For a 12-hour class with a 70% test you get three shots at. Take the class. (2) The Warden may make exceptions to the provisions of this section for good cause. SECTION 2.5.1: TARGET POPULATION, § 550.53(a) RDAP (EXCERPT) 2.5.1. Target Population. The RDAP targets the inmate who volunteers for treatment and has a diagnosable and verifiable substance use disorder, and is able to participate in the entire RDAP. (a) RDAP. To successfully complete the RDAP, inmates must complete each of the following components: (1) Unit-based component. Inmates must complete a course of activities provided by drug abuse treatment specialists and the Drug Abuse Program Coordinator in a treatment unit set apart from the general prison population. This component must last at least six months. To ensure the Bureau provides evidence based treatment in its drug abuse treatment programs, the RDAP is a minimum of 500 hours. The RDAP has a duration of 9 to 12 months. > Real numbers: 500 contact hours, 9 to 12 months on the unit eating half your workday every weekday, then follow-up back in general population, then the community piece at the halfway house. Three parts. People say "I did RDAP" meaning the unit part. The BOP doesn't count that as done, and the year attaches to all three. (2) Follow-up services. If time allows between completion of the unit-based component of the RDAP and transfer to a community-based program, inmates must participate in the follow-up services to the unit-based component of the RDAP. (3) Transitional drug abuse treatment (TDAT) component. Inmates who have completed the unit-based program and (when appropriate) the follow-up treatment and are transferred to community confinement must successfully complete community-based drug abuse treatment in a community-based program to have successfully completed RDAP. The Warden, on the basis of his or her discretion, may find an inmate ineligible for participation in a community-based program. (b) Admission Criteria. Inmates must meet all of the following criteria to be admitted into RDAP. a. (1) Inmates must have a verifiable substance use disorder. b. (2) Inmates must sign an agreement acknowledging program responsibility. c. (3) When beginning the program, the inmate must be able to complete all three components described in paragraph (a) of this section. This includes the critical RRC or home confinement transfer to participate in the TDAT. Example 1: A deportable inmate is unqualified for the RDAP because he or she cannot participate in the transitional drug abuse treatment component because he or she is not eligible for RRC placement. The NR DAP program is available for these unqualified inmates. d. Ordinarily, have 24 months or more remaining on their sentence. > Twenty-four months remaining is the practical floor: between the wait list, the program, follow-up, and the halfway house piece, a short sentence has no room. And if a detainer or immigration hold means no halfway house at the end, you're out before you start. That second one eliminates more people than the diagnosis does. SECTION 2.5.5: REFERRAL AND REDESIGNATION (EXCERPT) Institution DAP Coordinators and Regional Psychology Program Coordinators will monitor waiting lists to ensure inmates are transferred for RDAP with sufficient time to complete the entire RDAP program before their release from Bureau custody, ordinarily at 24 months. Inmates are to be informed that they may be transferred to any suitable Bureau RDAP based on their release date. This notification is included in the Agreement to Participate for the RDAP. > Signing up for RDAP means agreeing to be moved anywhere in the country that has a bed. It's in the agreement you sign. Families need to hear that before it happens, because a 300-mile visiting drive turning into 1,500 is a real cost that belongs in the decision. And nobody: no consultant, no lawyer. Can guarantee you a specific facility. SECTION 2.5.8: RDAP PROGRAM ADMISSION, § 550.53(c) APPLICATION (EXCERPT) 2.5.8. RDAP Program Admission. § 550.53(c) Application to RDAP. Inmates may apply for the RDAP by submitting requests to a staff member (ordinarily, a member of the unit team or the Drug Abuse Program Coordinator). > The application is a cop-out. A BP-A0148 to the Drug Abuse Program Coordinator. That's the entire process people pay thousands to have "handled." Keep a dated copy of every one you send. Inmates may also apply for the program by submitting an Inmate Request to Staff form to the DAPC. SECTION 2.5.8: SCREENING AND COLLATERAL DOCUMENTATION (EXCERPT) When seeking independent verification, examples of other collateral documentation that may be used include: Documentation to support a substance use disorder within the 12-month period before the inmate's arrest on his or her current offense. > The twelve-month window is the rule nobody knows going in. Documentation has to show a problem in the year before your arrest on this case. Treatment you did at 22 does nothing for you at 40. The one alternative is two or more DUI/DWI convictions in the five years before the arrest. This paragraph is the actual checklist. Documentation from a probation officer, parole officer, social service professional, etc., who has information that verifies the inmate's problem with substance(s) within the 12-month period before the inmate's arrest on his or her current offense. Documentation from a substance abuse treatment provider or medical provider who diagnosed and treated the inmate for a substance abuse disorder within the 12-month period before the inmate's arrest on his or her current offense. Multiple convictions (two or more) for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in the 5 years prior to his or her most recent arrest. NOTE: Recreational, social, or occasional use of alcohol and/or other drugs that does not rise to the level of excessive or abusive drinking does not provide the required verification of a substance use disorder. Any verifying documentation of alcohol or other drug use must indicate problematic use; i.e., consistent with the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM) criteria. SECTION 2.5.8: NO VERIFYING DOCUMENTATION (EXCERPT) As there is no substantiating documentation for a substance use diagnosis, you have the following options: 1. You may volunteer for the non-residential drug abuse program. 2. You may seek documentation from a substance abuse treatment provider where you previously received treatment. This document must have been written at the time services were provided and must demonstrate that a substance use diagnosis was completed at the time you were seen, and that treatment was provided for that documented substance abuse diagnosis. For example, the documentation may not state that the substance abuse treatment provider thought you had an alcohol or other drug problem when he or she saw you for a medical or psychological problem. Documentation must be sent to, and received by, the drug abuse treatment staff in the institution. It is not to be sent to you for you to provide to the drug abuse treatment staff. If the documentation is acceptable, you will be referred to the DAPC for a diagnostic interview. > This is the most common way a family blows the application. Records go from the provider straight to Psychology Services at the institution. If they get mailed to your person and they hand them over themselves, they don't count. Also: the record has to have been written back when they were actually treated. A letter their old counselor writes today is worthless. SECTION 2.5.9: THE CLINICAL INTERVIEW, § 550.53(e) PLACEMENT IN RDAP (EXCERPT) § 550.53(e) Placement in RDAP. The Drug Abuse Program Coordinator decides whether to place inmates in RDAP based on the criteria set forth in paragraph (b) of this section. If verifying documentation is found or produced, and only then, inmates who volunteer for the RDAP will be personally interviewed by the DAPC. Interviews will be conducted based on the inmate's proximity to release, ordinarily no less than 24 months from release. On the basis of the clinical interview, the DAPC may conclude that the inmate either does or does not have a diagnosis of a substance use disorder. In some instances, the DAPC may find the inmate does not have a diagnosis, even if there is substantiating documentation. > Documentation gets you the interview. It does not get you in. A psychologist's clinical judgment can override the paperwork, and this sentence exists so that decision holds up. Anyone promising an RDAP outcome is promising you someone else's professional judgment. Note: Inmates with a diagnosis of a substance use disorder are qualified for the RDAP whether or not they are eligible for the early release incentive. > Two different questions people mash together. Getting into RDAP is one determination. Getting the year off is a separate one under a different policy, and plenty of offenses disqualify you from the release while you still do the program. Don't assume. Ask the case manager (the staffer who controls your release date) what the SENTRY assignment says: ELIGIBLE or INELIGIBLE. SECTION 2.5.14: RE-APPLICATION TO THE RDAP (EXCERPT) 2.5.14. Re-application to the RDAP. An inmate who previously declined, withdrew, or failed RDAP may reapply for readmission to the program after 90 days through an Inmate Request to Staff form to the DAPC. The treatment team, in consultation when appropriate with the unit team, will decide on readmission. Considerations may include the inmate's participation in the NR DAP program or DRUG ED, at the discretion of the DAPC. The DAPC will provide the treatment team's decision to the inmate in person and in writing. If readmitted to the same or to a different RDAP, the inmate will not receive any credit for prior treatment participation. > Two prerequisites that have nothing to do with drugs and stop people cold: current on FRP: restitution, fines, special assessment, and handling the GED requirement. Get on an FRP plan and stay on it. Refusing FRP reaches into RDAP incentives, pay grade, UNICOR, and halfway house recommendations all at once. SECTION 2.5.15: PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, § 550.54 INCENTIVES (EXCERPT) (b) An inmate must meet his/her financial program responsibility obligations (see 28 CFR part 545) and GED responsibilities (see 28 CFR part 544) before being able to receive an incentive for his/her RDAP participation. > Reapply after 90 days, and if they take you back you start at zero. Eight months of completed program counts for nothing. Put that next to the 24-month rule and you see why washing out late in a sentence is usually the end of it. (c) If an inmate withdraws from or is otherwise removed from RDAP, that inmate may lose incentives he/she previously achieved. SECTION 2.5.15: RESIDENTIAL RE-ENTRY CENTER (RRC) PLACEMENT (EXCERPT) Residential Re-entry Center (RRC) Placement. Consideration may be given for up to the maximum period of placement in an RRC to include home confinement. The RRC placement allows for the completion of the Community TDAT component of RDAP. Program completion in the community is a critical component of the RDAP. On occasion, administrative factors (e.g., bedspace limitations at a RRC) or community safety concerns (e.g., exclusionary criteria) occur that require consideration for RRC placement of less than the recommended maximum days. When this occurs, the goal for both the Warden and CCM is to seek possible placement for the maximum period without negatively impacting bedspace limitations in contract facilities or jeopardizing community safety. Bureau experience and drug abuse treatment research demonstrate that successful community treatment cannot be completed in less than 120 days. Therefore, inmates who are approved for less than a 120-day RRC placement or home confinement cannot ordinarily complete the final component of the RDAP, and are, therefore, ineligible for early release. For inmates who would otherwise be eligible for early release, but who are approved for less than a 120-day RRC placement, the appropriate SENTRY assignment must be changed from ELIGIBLE to INELIGIBLE. > Write down 120 days. Less than that at the halfway house or on home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring) and you can't finish the community piece, which flips ELIGIBLE to INELIGIBLE. Meaning a bedspace shortage: an administrative problem, nothing your person did. Can take the year. Families should be asking the case manager early and often how many RRC days are being recommended. SECTION 2.6: FOLLOW-UP TREATMENT (EXCERPT) 2.6.1. Follow-up to the RDAP: Target Population. This is the second component of the RDAP. Treatment continues for inmates who complete the unit-based component of the RDAP and return to general population. An inmate must remain in Follow-Up Treatment (FOL PART) for 12 months or until he/she is transferred to a RRC. 2.6.3. Follow-up Treatment Refuse or Failure. Any RDAP participant who refuses to participate in follow-up treatment is an RDAP failure and is disqualified from receiving additional achievement awards, (e.g. early release). His or her failure may result in the inmate's re-designation. The primary DTS is responsible for entering the appropriate SENTRY assignment and entering the discharge note into PDS. > Finishing the unit part and then coasting is how people lose the year at the finish line. Follow-up runs 12 months or until you leave for the halfway house, and refusing it makes you a failure on paper with everything that follows. The victory lap is part of the race. CHAPTER 6: MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT PROGRAMS, SECTION 6.1.3 STAFFING (EXCERPT) Staffing complements for Mental Health Treatment Programs are established by Executive Staff at the time of program implementation. The staffing complements for current programs are listed below: The Habilitation Program has a capacity of 16 inmates and is staffed by a psychologist. The Skills Program has a capacity of 44 inmates and is staffed by a psychologist, a Treatment Specialist, and a teacher. The Axis II Program has a capacity of 48 inmates and is staffed by a psychologist, two Treatment Specialists, and a correctional counselor. The female Step-Down Unit has a capacity of 72 and is staffed by a psychologist. The male Step-Down Unit has a capacity of 84 and is staffed by a psychologist, a social worker, and a half-time psychologist. > Read those numbers against a federal population over a hundred thousand. Sixteen beds. Forty-four. Eighty-four. That's the national capacity for the BOP's named mental health programs. If your person has a serious mental illness, the honest answer is that placement in one of these is rare and the realistic path is whatever Psychology Services can staff at their facility. I'd rather tell you that than let you spend a year chasing a bed that isn't there. Source: PS 5330.11 (3/16/2009), [bop.gov/policy/progstat/5330.11-cn1.pdf](https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/5330.11-cn1.pdf). U.S. government work, public domain. Excerpts only; the official PDF controls. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons # The facility guide. **Visiting is suspended right now at 1 facility:** - [FCI Beaumont Low Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas), since Jul 25, 2026 How I know: the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons) publishes visiting suspensions in its public facility data, and I check every facility every five minutes. The BOP under-reports. Quiet means they haven't said anything, not that nothing is happening. [Facility alert](https://federalprisondude.com/insider-tools/facility-alerts/subscribe) subscribers hear within minutes of a suspension starting or lifting. 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[USP Beaumont (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmp-usp-beaumont-united-states-penitentiary-texas) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmp-usp-beaumont-united-states-penitentiary-texas) - [FCI Beaumont Low (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-fci-beaumont-low-federal-correctional-institution-texas) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-fci-beaumont-low-federal-correctional-institution-texas) - [FCI Beaumont Low Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [FCI Beaumont Medium (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmm-fci-beaumont-medium-federal-correctional-institution-texas) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmm-fci-beaumont-medium-federal-correctional-institution-texas) - [FCI Beckley (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-fci-beckley-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-fci-beckley-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) - [FCI Beckley Camp (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-camp-fci-beckley-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-camp-fci-beckley-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) - [FCI Bennettsville (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-fci-bennettsville-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-fci-bennettsville-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) - [FCI Bennettsville Camp (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-camp-fci-bennettsville-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-camp-fci-bennettsville-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina) - [FCI Berlin (NH)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-fci-berlin-federal-correctional-institution-new-hampshire) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-fci-berlin-federal-correctional-institution-new-hampshire) - [FCI Berlin Camp (NH)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-camp-fci-berlin-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-hampshire) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-camp-fci-berlin-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-hampshire) - [USP Big Sandy (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-usp-big-sandy-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-usp-big-sandy-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky) - [USP Big Sandy Camp (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-camp-usp-big-sandy-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-camp-usp-big-sandy-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) - [FCI Big Spring (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-fci-big-spring-federal-correctional-institution-texas) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-fci-big-spring-federal-correctional-institution-texas) - [FCI Big Spring Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-camp-fci-big-spring-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-camp-fci-big-spring-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [MDC Brooklyn (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bro-mdc-brooklyn-metropolitan-detention-center-new-york) Mdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bro-mdc-brooklyn-metropolitan-detention-center-new-york) - [FPC Bryan (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bry-fpc-bryan-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bry-fpc-bryan-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [FCC Butner (NC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bux-fcc-butner-federal-correctional-complex-north-carolina) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bux-fcc-butner-federal-correctional-complex-north-carolina) - [FMC Butner (NC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina) Fmc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina) - [FCI Butner Low (NC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina) - [FCI Butner Medium I (NC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina) - [FCI Butner Medium I Camp (NC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina) - [FCI Butner Medium II (NC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina) - [USP Canaan (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-usp-canaan-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-usp-canaan-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania) - [USP Canaan Camp (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-camp-usp-canaan-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-camp-usp-canaan-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) - [FMC Carswell (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-fmc-carswell-federal-medical-center-texas) Fmc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-fmc-carswell-federal-medical-center-texas) - [FMC Carswell Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-camp-fmc-carswell-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-camp-fmc-carswell-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [MCC Chicago (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ccc-mcc-chicago-metropolitan-correctional-center-illinois) Mcc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ccc-mcc-chicago-metropolitan-correctional-center-illinois) - [FCC Coleman (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cox-fcc-coleman-federal-correctional-complex-florida) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cox-fcc-coleman-federal-correctional-complex-florida) - [USP Coleman I (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida) - [USP Coleman II (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida) - [FCI Coleman Low (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida) - [FCI Coleman Low Camp (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida) - [FCI Coleman Medium (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida) - [FCI Cumberland (MD)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-fci-cumberland-federal-correctional-institution-maryland) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-fci-cumberland-federal-correctional-institution-maryland) - [FCI Cumberland Camp (MD)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-camp-fci-cumberland-camp-federal-prison-camp-maryland) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-camp-fci-cumberland-camp-federal-prison-camp-maryland) - [FCI Danbury (CT)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-fci-danbury-federal-correctional-institution-connecticut) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-fci-danbury-federal-correctional-institution-connecticut) - [FCI Danbury Camp (CT)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-camp-fci-danbury-camp-federal-prison-camp-connecticut) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-camp-fci-danbury-camp-federal-prison-camp-connecticut) - [FMC Devens (MA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-fmc-devens-federal-medical-center-massachusetts) Fmc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-fmc-devens-federal-medical-center-massachusetts) - [FMC Devens Camp (MA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-camp-fmc-devens-camp-federal-prison-camp-massachusetts) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-camp-fmc-devens-camp-federal-prison-camp-massachusetts) - [FPC Duluth (MN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dth-fpc-duluth-federal-prison-camp-minnesota) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dth-fpc-duluth-federal-prison-camp-minnesota) - [FCI Edgefield (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-fci-edgefield-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-fci-edgefield-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) - [FCI Edgefield Camp (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-camp-fci-edgefield-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-camp-fci-edgefield-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina) - [FCI Elkton (OH)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fci-elkton-federal-correctional-institution-ohio) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fci-elkton-federal-correctional-institution-ohio) - [FCI Elkton Satellite Low (OH)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fsl-fci-elkton-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-ohio) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fsl-fci-elkton-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-ohio) - [FCI El Reno (OK)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-fci-el-reno-federal-correctional-institution-oklahoma) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-fci-el-reno-federal-correctional-institution-oklahoma) - [FCI El Reno Camp (OK)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-camp-fci-el-reno-camp-federal-prison-camp-oklahoma) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-camp-fci-el-reno-camp-federal-prison-camp-oklahoma) - [FCI Englewood (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fci-englewood-federal-correctional-institution-colorado) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fci-englewood-federal-correctional-institution-colorado) - [FCI Englewood Detention Center (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fdc-fci-englewood-detention-center-federal-detention-center-colorado) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fdc-fci-englewood-detention-center-federal-detention-center-colorado) - [FCI Estill (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/est-fci-estill-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/est-fci-estill-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) - [FCI Fairton (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fci-fairton-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fci-fairton-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey) - [FCI Fairton Camp (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-camp-fci-fairton-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-camp-fci-fairton-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey) - [FCI Fairton Detention Center (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fdc-fci-fairton-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-jersey) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fdc-fci-fairton-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-jersey) - [FCC Florence (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flx-fcc-florence-federal-correctional-complex-colorado) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flx-fcc-florence-federal-correctional-complex-colorado) - [FCI Florence (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-fci-florence-federal-correctional-institution-colorado) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-fci-florence-federal-correctional-institution-colorado) - [USP Florence ADMAX (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flm-usp-florence-admax-united-states-penitentiary-colorado) USP · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flm-usp-florence-admax-united-states-penitentiary-colorado) - [FCI Florence Camp (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-camp-fci-florence-camp-federal-prison-camp-colorado) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-camp-fci-florence-camp-federal-prison-camp-colorado) - [USP Florence - High (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flp-usp-florence-high-united-states-penitentiary-colorado) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flp-usp-florence-high-united-states-penitentiary-colorado) - [FCC Forrest City (AR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fox-fcc-forrest-city-federal-correctional-complex-arkansas) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fox-fcc-forrest-city-federal-correctional-complex-arkansas) - [FCI Forrest City Low (AR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-fci-forrest-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-fci-forrest-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas) - [FCI Forrest City Low Camp (AR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-camp-fci-forrest-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-arkansas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-camp-fci-forrest-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-arkansas) - [FCI Forrest City Medium (AR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas) - [FCI Fort Dix (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-fci-fort-dix-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-fci-fort-dix-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey) - [FCI Fort Dix Camp (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-camp-fci-fort-dix-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-camp-fci-fort-dix-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey) - [FMC Fort Worth (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fmc-fort-worth-federal-medical-center-texas) Fmc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fmc-fort-worth-federal-medical-center-texas) - [FMC Fort Worth Detention Center (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fdc-fmc-fort-worth-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fdc-fmc-fort-worth-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas) - [FCI Gilmer (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-fci-gilmer-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-fci-gilmer-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) - [FCI Gilmer Camp (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-camp-fci-gilmer-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-camp-fci-gilmer-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) - [FCI Greenville (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-fci-greenville-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-fci-greenville-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) - [FCI Greenville Camp (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-camp-fci-greenville-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-camp-fci-greenville-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) - [MDC Guaynabo (PR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gua-mdc-guaynabo-metropolitan-detention-center-puerto-rico) Mdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gua-mdc-guaynabo-metropolitan-detention-center-puerto-rico) - [FCC Hazelton (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hax-fcc-hazelton-federal-correctional-complex-west-virginia) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hax-fcc-hazelton-federal-correctional-complex-west-virginia) - [FCI Hazelton (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-fci-hazelton-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-fci-hazelton-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) - [USP Hazelton (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-usp-hazelton-united-states-penitentiary-west-virginia) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-usp-hazelton-united-states-penitentiary-west-virginia) - [USP Hazelton Camp (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-camp-usp-hazelton-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-camp-usp-hazelton-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) - [FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-sff-fci-hazelton-secure-female-facility-west-virginia) Other · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-sff-fci-hazelton-secure-female-facility-west-virginia) - [FCI Herlong (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-fci-herlong-federal-correctional-institution-california) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-fci-herlong-federal-correctional-institution-california) - [FCI Herlong Camp (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-camp-fci-herlong-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-camp-fci-herlong-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) - [FDC Honolulu (HI)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hon-fdc-honolulu-federal-detention-center-hawaii) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hon-fdc-honolulu-federal-detention-center-hawaii) - [FDC Houston (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hou-fdc-houston-federal-detention-center-texas) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hou-fdc-houston-federal-detention-center-texas) - [FCI Jesup (GA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fci-jesup-federal-correctional-institution-georgia) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fci-jesup-federal-correctional-institution-georgia) - [FCI Jesup Camp (GA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-camp-fci-jesup-camp-federal-prison-camp-georgia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-camp-fci-jesup-camp-federal-prison-camp-georgia) - [FCI Jesup Satellite Low (GA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fsl-fci-jesup-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-georgia) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fsl-fci-jesup-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-georgia) - [FCI La Tuna (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-fci-la-tuna-federal-correctional-institution-texas) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-fci-la-tuna-federal-correctional-institution-texas) - [FCI La Tuna Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-camp-fci-la-tuna-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-camp-fci-la-tuna-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [FCI Leavenworth (KS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-fci-leavenworth-federal-correctional-institution-kansas) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-fci-leavenworth-federal-correctional-institution-kansas) - [FCI Leavenworth Camp (KS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-camp-fci-leavenworth-camp-federal-prison-camp-kansas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-camp-fci-leavenworth-camp-federal-prison-camp-kansas) - [USP Lee (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-usp-lee-united-states-penitentiary-virginia) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-usp-lee-united-states-penitentiary-virginia) - [USP Lee Camp (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-camp-usp-lee-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-camp-usp-lee-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia) - [FCI Lewisburg (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-fci-lewisburg-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-fci-lewisburg-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) - [FCI Lewisburg Camp (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-camp-fci-lewisburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-camp-fci-lewisburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) - [FMC Lexington (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-fmc-lexington-federal-medical-center-kentucky) Fmc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-fmc-lexington-federal-medical-center-kentucky) - [FMC Lexington Camp (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-camp-fmc-lexington-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-camp-fmc-lexington-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) - [FCC Lompoc (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lox-fcc-lompoc-federal-correctional-complex-california) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lox-fcc-lompoc-federal-correctional-complex-california) - [FCI Lompoc I (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lof-fci-lompoc-i-federal-correctional-institution-california) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lof-fci-lompoc-i-federal-correctional-institution-california) - [FCI Lompoc II (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-fci-lompoc-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-fci-lompoc-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california) - [FCI Lompoc II Camp (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-camp-fci-lompoc-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-camp-fci-lompoc-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) - [FCI Loretto (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lor-fci-loretto-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lor-fci-loretto-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) - [MDC Los Angeles (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/los-mdc-los-angeles-metropolitan-detention-center-california) Mdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/los-mdc-los-angeles-metropolitan-detention-center-california) - [FCI Manchester (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-fci-manchester-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-fci-manchester-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky) - [FCI Manchester Camp (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-camp-fci-manchester-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-camp-fci-manchester-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) - [FCI Marianna (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-fci-marianna-federal-correctional-institution-florida) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-fci-marianna-federal-correctional-institution-florida) - [FCI Marianna Camp (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-camp-fci-marianna-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-camp-fci-marianna-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida) - [FCI Marion (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-fci-marion-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-fci-marion-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) - [FCI Marion Camp (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-camp-fci-marion-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-camp-fci-marion-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) - [USP McCreary (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-usp-mccreary-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-usp-mccreary-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky) - [USP McCreary Camp (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-camp-usp-mccreary-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-camp-usp-mccreary-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky) - [FCI McDowell (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-fci-mcdowell-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-fci-mcdowell-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia) - [FCI McDowell Camp (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-camp-fci-mcdowell-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-camp-fci-mcdowell-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) - [FCI McKean (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-fci-mckean-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-fci-mckean-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) - [FCI McKean Camp (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-camp-fci-mckean-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-camp-fci-mckean-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) - [FCI Memphis (TN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fci-memphis-federal-correctional-institution-tennessee) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fci-memphis-federal-correctional-institution-tennessee) - [FCI Memphis Detention Center (TN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fdc-fci-memphis-detention-center-federal-detention-center-tennessee) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fdc-fci-memphis-detention-center-federal-detention-center-tennessee) - [FCI Mendota (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-fci-mendota-federal-correctional-institution-california) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-fci-mendota-federal-correctional-institution-california) - [FCI Mendota Camp (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-camp-fci-mendota-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-camp-fci-mendota-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) - [FCI Miami (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-fci-miami-federal-correctional-institution-florida) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-fci-miami-federal-correctional-institution-florida) - [FDC Miami (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mim-fdc-miami-federal-detention-center-florida) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mim-fdc-miami-federal-detention-center-florida) - [FCI Miami Camp (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-camp-fci-miami-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-camp-fci-miami-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida) - [FCI Milan (MI)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fci-milan-federal-correctional-institution-michigan) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fci-milan-federal-correctional-institution-michigan) - [FCI Milan Detention Center (MI)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fdc-fci-milan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-michigan) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fdc-fci-milan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-michigan) - [FPC Montgomery (AL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mon-fpc-montgomery-federal-prison-camp-alabama) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mon-fpc-montgomery-federal-prison-camp-alabama) - [FPC Morgantown (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mrg-fpc-morgantown-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mrg-fpc-morgantown-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia) - [FCC Oakdale (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oax-fcc-oakdale-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oax-fcc-oakdale-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana) - [FCI Oakdale I (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oak-fci-oakdale-i-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oak-fci-oakdale-i-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana) - [FCI Oakdale II (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-fci-oakdale-ii-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-fci-oakdale-ii-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana) - [FCI Oakdale II Camp (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-camp-fci-oakdale-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-camp-fci-oakdale-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana) - [FTC Oklahoma City (OK)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/okl-ftc-oklahoma-city-oklahoma) Other · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/okl-ftc-oklahoma-city-oklahoma) - [FCI Otisville (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fci-otisville-federal-correctional-institution-new-york) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fci-otisville-federal-correctional-institution-new-york) - [FCI Otisville Camp (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-camp-fci-otisville-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-york) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-camp-fci-otisville-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-york) - [FCI Otisville Detention Center (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fdc-fci-otisville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fdc-fci-otisville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york) - [FCI Oxford (WI)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oxf-fci-oxford-federal-correctional-institution-wisconsin) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oxf-fci-oxford-federal-correctional-institution-wisconsin) - [FCI Pekin (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-fci-pekin-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-fci-pekin-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) - [FCI Pekin Camp (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-camp-fci-pekin-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-camp-fci-pekin-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) - [FCC Petersburg (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pex-fcc-petersburg-federal-correctional-complex-virginia) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pex-fcc-petersburg-federal-correctional-complex-virginia) - [FCI Petersburg Low (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-fci-petersburg-low-federal-correctional-institution-virginia) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-fci-petersburg-low-federal-correctional-institution-virginia) - [FCI Petersburg Low Camp (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-camp-fci-petersburg-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-camp-fci-petersburg-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia) - [FCI Petersburg Medium (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pem-fci-petersburg-medium-federal-correctional-institution-virginia) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pem-fci-petersburg-medium-federal-correctional-institution-virginia) - [FDC Philadelphia (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phl-fdc-philadelphia-federal-detention-center-pennsylvania) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phl-fdc-philadelphia-federal-detention-center-pennsylvania) - [FCI Phoenix (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fci-phoenix-federal-correctional-institution-arizona) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fci-phoenix-federal-correctional-institution-arizona) - [FCI Phoenix Camp (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-camp-fci-phoenix-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-camp-fci-phoenix-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona) - [FCI Phoenix Detention Center (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fdc-fci-phoenix-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fdc-fci-phoenix-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona) - [FCC Pollock (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pox-fcc-pollock-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pox-fcc-pollock-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana) - [FCI Pollock (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-fci-pollock-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-fci-pollock-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana) - [USP Pollock (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pol-usp-pollock-united-states-penitentiary-louisiana) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pol-usp-pollock-united-states-penitentiary-louisiana) - [FCI Pollock Camp (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-camp-fci-pollock-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-camp-fci-pollock-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana) - [FCI Ray Brook (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fci-ray-brook-federal-correctional-institution-new-york) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fci-ray-brook-federal-correctional-institution-new-york) - [FCI Ray Brook Detention Center (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fdc-fci-ray-brook-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fdc-fci-ray-brook-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york) - [FMC Rochester (MN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rch-fmc-rochester-federal-medical-center-minnesota) Fmc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rch-fmc-rochester-federal-medical-center-minnesota) - [FCI Safford (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/saf-fci-safford-federal-correctional-institution-arizona) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/saf-fci-safford-federal-correctional-institution-arizona) - [MCC San Diego (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sdc-mcc-san-diego-metropolitan-correctional-center-california) Mcc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sdc-mcc-san-diego-metropolitan-correctional-center-california) - [FCI Sandstone (MN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sst-fci-sandstone-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sst-fci-sandstone-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota) - [FCI Schuylkill (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-fci-schuylkill-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-fci-schuylkill-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania) - [FCI Schuylkill Camp (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-camp-fci-schuylkill-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-camp-fci-schuylkill-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania) - [FCI Seagoville (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fci-seagoville-federal-correctional-institution-texas) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fci-seagoville-federal-correctional-institution-texas) - [FCI Seagoville Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-camp-fci-seagoville-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-camp-fci-seagoville-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [FCI Seagoville Detention Center (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fdc-fci-seagoville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fdc-fci-seagoville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas) - [FDC SeaTac (WA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/set-fdc-seatac-federal-detention-center-washington) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/set-fdc-seatac-federal-detention-center-washington) - [FCI Sheridan (OR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fci-sheridan-federal-correctional-institution-oregon) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fci-sheridan-federal-correctional-institution-oregon) - [FCI Sheridan Camp (OR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-camp-fci-sheridan-camp-federal-prison-camp-oregon) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-camp-fci-sheridan-camp-federal-prison-camp-oregon) - [FCI Sheridan Detention Center (OR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fdc-fci-sheridan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-oregon) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fdc-fci-sheridan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-oregon) - [MCFP Springfield (MO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/spg-mcfp-springfield-federal-medical-center-missouri) Fmc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/spg-mcfp-springfield-federal-medical-center-missouri) - [FCI Talladega (AL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-fci-talladega-federal-correctional-institution-alabama) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-fci-talladega-federal-correctional-institution-alabama) - [FCI Talladega Camp (AL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-camp-fci-talladega-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-camp-fci-talladega-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama) - [FCI Tallahassee (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fci-tallahassee-federal-correctional-institution-florida) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fci-tallahassee-federal-correctional-institution-florida) - [FCI Tallahassee Detention Center (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fdc-fci-tallahassee-detention-center-federal-detention-center-florida) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fdc-fci-tallahassee-detention-center-federal-detention-center-florida) - [FCC Terre Haute (IN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thx-fcc-terre-haute-federal-correctional-complex-indiana) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thx-fcc-terre-haute-federal-correctional-complex-indiana) - [FCI Terre Haute (IN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-fci-terre-haute-federal-correctional-institution-indiana) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-fci-terre-haute-federal-correctional-institution-indiana) - [USP Terre Haute (IN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thp-usp-terre-haute-united-states-penitentiary-indiana) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thp-usp-terre-haute-united-states-penitentiary-indiana) - [FCI Terre Haute Camp (IN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-camp-fci-terre-haute-camp-federal-prison-camp-indiana) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-camp-fci-terre-haute-camp-federal-prison-camp-indiana) - [FCI Texarkana (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-fci-texarkana-federal-correctional-institution-texas) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-fci-texarkana-federal-correctional-institution-texas) - [FCI Texarkana Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-camp-fci-texarkana-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-camp-fci-texarkana-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [FCI Thomson (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-fci-thomson-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-fci-thomson-federal-correctional-institution-illinois) - [FCI Thomson Camp (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-camp-fci-thomson-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-camp-fci-thomson-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois) - [FCI Three Rivers (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-fci-three-rivers-federal-correctional-institution-texas) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-fci-three-rivers-federal-correctional-institution-texas) - [FCI Three Rivers Camp (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-camp-fci-three-rivers-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-camp-fci-three-rivers-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas) - [FCC Tucson (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcx-fcc-tucson-federal-correctional-complex-arizona) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcx-fcc-tucson-federal-correctional-complex-arizona) - [FCI Tucson (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fci-tucson-federal-correctional-institution-arizona) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fci-tucson-federal-correctional-institution-arizona) - [USP Tucson (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-usp-tucson-united-states-penitentiary-arizona) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-usp-tucson-united-states-penitentiary-arizona) - [USP Tucson Camp (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-camp-usp-tucson-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-camp-usp-tucson-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona) - [FCI Tucson Detention Center (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fdc-fci-tucson-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona) Fdc · Administrative security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fdc-fci-tucson-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona) - [FCC Victorville (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vix-fcc-victorville-federal-correctional-complex-california) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vix-fcc-victorville-federal-correctional-complex-california) - [USP Victorville (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vip-usp-victorville-united-states-penitentiary-california) USP · High security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vip-usp-victorville-united-states-penitentiary-california) - [FCI Victorville Medium I (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-fci-victorville-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-california) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-fci-victorville-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-california) - [FCI Victorville Medium I Camp (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-camp-fci-victorville-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-camp-fci-victorville-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-california) - [FCI Victorville Medium II (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vvm-fci-victorville-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vvm-fci-victorville-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california) - [FCI Waseca (MN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/was-fci-waseca-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/was-fci-waseca-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota) - [FCI Williamsburg (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-fci-williamsburg-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-fci-williamsburg-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina) - [FCI Williamsburg Camp (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-camp-fci-williamsburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-camp-fci-williamsburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina) - [FPC Yankton (SD)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yan-fpc-yankton-federal-prison-camp-south-dakota) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yan-fpc-yankton-federal-prison-camp-south-dakota) - [FCC Yazoo City (MS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yax-fcc-yazoo-city-federal-correctional-complex-mississippi) Fcc · Unknown security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yax-fcc-yazoo-city-federal-correctional-complex-mississippi) - [FCI Yazoo City Low (MS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-fci-yazoo-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi) FCI · Low security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-fci-yazoo-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi) - [FCI Yazoo City Low Camp (MS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-camp-fci-yazoo-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-mississippi) Camp · Minimum security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-camp-fci-yazoo-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-mississippi) - [FCI Yazoo City Low II (MS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yam-fci-yazoo-city-low-ii-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yam-fci-yazoo-city-low-ii-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi) - [FCI Yazoo City Medium (MS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yap-fci-yazoo-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi) FCI · Medium security [The guide →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yap-fci-yazoo-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi) **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Facility%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ald-fpc-alderson-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia # FPC Alderson (WV) FPC Alderson (WV) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Alderson, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ald/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ald-fpc-alderson-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FPC Alderson locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FPC Alderson yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage - Apr 4, 2026 [FPC Alderson inmates reunite with children in Easter celebration](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMimgFBVV95cUxNb2hlTnRlM19lVGI5YzhCQkJVeXhVbmdBYWpnMjduWHFELXZMazNBSDV6ak01ZzJRbzdYUjdubDVHOVkzSm9hemFEZXlyVGtYTmE3WDRwTlhDUGg2V3FOZnQyaGZzUGZDS3R6VkVTMVhva2RSZXVPMkVEd1BBT3ktRlVFQVJzLUgzTGVJdEdpMHM3QWFuY19DZnZn?oc=5) WDTV 5 - Jan 9, 2024 [FPC Alderson All-female Fire Brigade](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMickFVX3lxTFBYS1N5N2ZNYVZnZXpFV2l5Qy1VNVVhamw5cDJFX2pJY2Y2WnFOTWpyQldVc0phWExCUlY0cFR3Qm9NRmxDS3diTGJPekJ2ZXFDRjNBamJLSWQ2MTRQc2x0aXVmWWVtSDBPa0xtMDFqcHpNQQ?oc=5) bop.gov - Jan 3, 2023 [U.S. vs Billie Holiday: How a jazz legend landed in Alderson Federal Prison Camp](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiqAFBVV95cUxPOENSUTJxXzIxNWJIZE9PQzhiV0xmT2JxWWx2U09aS3ZXa1VJcGJLSnJLNTFhNVFYT0hYS2NXbmMweU5GQ0VZdHl6MUlVNHhxanZiY3ZDd2ZYc1ZURm1zbUNRMXlUTHpNSUVrUkZKdGpTOEdOY1NLcTZoZGJoWXV0QkpIWjJqc0JSMlFyVUtoSkF3QlRKYXEzN1Fmc1ZjVGFSRnRTN2EzenI?oc=5) Lootpress - Jul 20, 2022 [FPC Alderson receives new fire truck - The Register-Herald](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMi0gFBVV95cUxQTGkyVGtkZjU3ZGdkSHVqUElmUGZLUXU3Q2hoM21EZDZ2dXFHalprRk8xMXJCZVNHVnFKR2xlWEZUR1F4NVdmWlBPWUVqRjhWV0RtbVFEUFAxZUh3WnZGVjl1SzNGZ0JrMUlianl2VndmVUJGZy1neUNLdDFib212QlptY2pPZkVRNVk0SVNnY3hLNEx0N1p0TUJUeUFrNFR1eTkzYmktQWpSalNlV2tpZC1rNnFhMlFteTdkZDYtVU90WWdTVk52R09zUUYxdVNaU3c?oc=5) The Register-Herald [All coverage →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ald-fpc-alderson-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia/articles) **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FPC%20Alderson) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ali-fci-aliceville-federal-correctional-institution-alabama # FCI Aliceville (AL) FCI Aliceville (AL) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Aliceville, Alabama. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Aliceville Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ali-camp-fci-aliceville-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ali/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ali-fci-aliceville-federal-correctional-institution-alabama/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Aliceville locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Aliceville yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Aliceville. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Aliceville) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ali-camp-fci-aliceville-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama # FCI Aliceville Camp (AL) FCI Aliceville Camp (AL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Aliceville, Alabama. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Aliceville (AL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ali-fci-aliceville-federal-correctional-institution-alabama). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ali-camp-fci-aliceville-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Aliceville Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Aliceville Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Aliceville Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Aliceville%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alx-fcc-allenwood-federal-correctional-complex-pennsylvania # FCC Allenwood (PA) FCC Allenwood (PA) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Allenwood&name=Allenwood&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alx-fcc-allenwood-federal-correctional-complex-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Allenwood locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Allenwood. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Allenwood) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alp-usp-allenwood-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania # USP Allenwood (PA) USP Allenwood (PA) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Allenwood Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alf-fci-allenwood-low-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania), [FCI Allenwood Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alm-fci-allenwood-medium-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/alp/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alp-usp-allenwood-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Allenwood locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Allenwood yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Allenwood. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Allenwood) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alf-fci-allenwood-low-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania # FCI Allenwood Low (PA) FCI Allenwood Low (PA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Allenwood](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alp-usp-allenwood-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania), [FCI Allenwood Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alm-fci-allenwood-medium-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/alf/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alf-fci-allenwood-low-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Allenwood Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Allenwood Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Allenwood Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Allenwood%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alm-fci-allenwood-medium-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania # FCI Allenwood Medium (PA) FCI Allenwood Medium (PA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in White Deer, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Allenwood](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alp-usp-allenwood-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania), [FCI Allenwood Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alf-fci-allenwood-low-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/alm/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/alm-fci-allenwood-medium-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Allenwood Medium locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Allenwood Medium yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Allenwood Medium. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Allenwood%20Medium) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ash-fci-ashland-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky # FCI Ashland (KY) FCI Ashland (KY) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Ashland Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ash-camp-fci-ashland-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ash/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ash-fci-ashland-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Ashland locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Ashland yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Ashland. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Ashland) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ash-camp-fci-ashland-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky # FCI Ashland Camp (KY) FCI Ashland Camp (KY) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Ashland, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Ashland (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ash-fci-ashland-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ash-camp-fci-ashland-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Ashland Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Ashland Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Ashland Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Ashland%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atl-fci-atlanta-federal-correctional-institution-georgia # FCI Atlanta (GA) FCI Atlanta (GA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Atlanta, Georgia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Atlanta Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atl-fdc-fci-atlanta-detention-center-federal-detention-center-georgia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/atl/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atl-fci-atlanta-federal-correctional-institution-georgia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Atlanta locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Atlanta yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Atlanta. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Atlanta) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atl-fdc-fci-atlanta-detention-center-federal-detention-center-georgia # FCI Atlanta Detention Center (GA) FCI Atlanta Detention Center (GA) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Atlanta (GA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atl-fci-atlanta-federal-correctional-institution-georgia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atl-fdc-fci-atlanta-detention-center-federal-detention-center-georgia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Atlanta Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Atlanta Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Atlanta Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Atlanta%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atw-usp-atwater-united-states-penitentiary-california # USP Atwater (CA) USP Atwater (CA) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Atwater, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [USP Atwater Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atw-camp-usp-atwater-camp-federal-prison-camp-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/atw/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atw-usp-atwater-united-states-penitentiary-california/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Atwater locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Atwater yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Atwater. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Atwater) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atw-camp-usp-atwater-camp-federal-prison-camp-california # USP Atwater Camp (CA) USP Atwater Camp (CA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Atwater, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [USP Atwater (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atw-usp-atwater-united-states-penitentiary-california). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/atw-camp-usp-atwater-camp-federal-prison-camp-california/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Atwater Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Atwater Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Atwater Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Atwater%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bas-fci-bastrop-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI Bastrop (TX) FCI Bastrop (TX) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Bastrop, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Bastrop Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bas-camp-fci-bastrop-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bas/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bas-fci-bastrop-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Bastrop locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Bastrop yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Bastrop. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Bastrop) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bas-camp-fci-bastrop-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FCI Bastrop Camp (TX) FCI Bastrop Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Bastrop, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Bastrop (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bas-fci-bastrop-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bas-camp-fci-bastrop-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Bastrop Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Bastrop Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Bastrop Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Bastrop%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmx-fcc-beaumont-federal-correctional-complex-texas # FCC Beaumont (TX) FCC Beaumont (TX) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Beaumont, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Beaumont&name=Beaumont&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmx-fcc-beaumont-federal-correctional-complex-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Beaumont locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Beaumont. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Beaumont) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmp-usp-beaumont-united-states-penitentiary-texas # USP Beaumont (TX) USP Beaumont (TX) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Beaumont, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Beaumont Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-fci-beaumont-low-federal-correctional-institution-texas), [FCI Beaumont Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas), [FCI Beaumont Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmm-fci-beaumont-medium-federal-correctional-institution-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bmp/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmp-usp-beaumont-united-states-penitentiary-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Beaumont locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Beaumont yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Beaumont. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Beaumont) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-fci-beaumont-low-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI Beaumont Low (TX) FCI Beaumont Low (TX) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Beaumont, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Beaumont](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmp-usp-beaumont-united-states-penitentiary-texas), [FCI Beaumont Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmm-fci-beaumont-medium-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Beaumont Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bml/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-fci-beaumont-low-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Beaumont Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Beaumont Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Beaumont Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Beaumont%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FCI Beaumont Low Camp (TX) FCI Beaumont Low Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Beaumont, Texas. Current status: locked down since July 25, 2026. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Beaumont](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmp-usp-beaumont-united-states-penitentiary-texas), [FCI Beaumont Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmm-fci-beaumont-medium-federal-correctional-institution-texas). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Beaumont Low (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-fci-beaumont-low-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. **Camp visiting suspension** since July 25, 2026. Visiting Suspended Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Beaumont Low Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Beaumont Low Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Beaumont Low Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Beaumont%20Low%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmm-fci-beaumont-medium-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI Beaumont Medium (TX) FCI Beaumont Medium (TX) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Beaumont, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Beaumont](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmp-usp-beaumont-united-states-penitentiary-texas), [FCI Beaumont Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-fci-beaumont-low-federal-correctional-institution-texas), [FCI Beaumont Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bml-camp-fci-beaumont-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bmm/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bmm-fci-beaumont-medium-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Beaumont Medium locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Beaumont Medium yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Beaumont Medium. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Beaumont%20Medium) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-fci-beckley-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia # FCI Beckley (WV) FCI Beckley (WV) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Beaver, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Beckley Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-camp-fci-beckley-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bec/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-fci-beckley-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Beckley locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Beckley yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Beckley. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Beckley) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-camp-fci-beckley-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia # FCI Beckley Camp (WV) FCI Beckley Camp (WV) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Beaver, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Beckley (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-fci-beckley-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bec-camp-fci-beckley-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Beckley Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Beckley Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Beckley Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Beckley%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-fci-bennettsville-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina # FCI Bennettsville (SC) FCI Bennettsville (SC) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Bennettsville, South Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Bennettsville Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-camp-fci-bennettsville-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ben/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-fci-bennettsville-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Bennettsville locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Bennettsville yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Bennettsville. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Bennettsville) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-camp-fci-bennettsville-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina # FCI Bennettsville Camp (SC) FCI Bennettsville Camp (SC) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Bennettsville, South Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Bennettsville (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-fci-bennettsville-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ben-camp-fci-bennettsville-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Bennettsville Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Bennettsville Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Bennettsville Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Bennettsville%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-fci-berlin-federal-correctional-institution-new-hampshire # FCI Berlin (NH) FCI Berlin (NH) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Berlin, New Hampshire. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Berlin Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-camp-fci-berlin-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-hampshire). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ber/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-fci-berlin-federal-correctional-institution-new-hampshire/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Berlin locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Berlin yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Berlin. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Berlin) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-camp-fci-berlin-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-hampshire # FCI Berlin Camp (NH) FCI Berlin Camp (NH) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Berlin, New Hampshire. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Berlin (NH)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-fci-berlin-federal-correctional-institution-new-hampshire). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ber-camp-fci-berlin-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-hampshire/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Berlin Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Berlin Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Berlin Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Berlin%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-usp-big-sandy-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky # USP Big Sandy (KY) USP Big Sandy (KY) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Inez, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [USP Big Sandy Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-camp-usp-big-sandy-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bsy/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-usp-big-sandy-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Big Sandy locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Big Sandy yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Big Sandy. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Big%20Sandy) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-camp-usp-big-sandy-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky # USP Big Sandy Camp (KY) USP Big Sandy Camp (KY) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Inez, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [USP Big Sandy (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-usp-big-sandy-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bsy-camp-usp-big-sandy-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Big Sandy Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Big Sandy Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Big Sandy Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Big%20Sandy%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-fci-big-spring-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI Big Spring (TX) FCI Big Spring (TX) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Big Spring, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Big Spring Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-camp-fci-big-spring-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/big/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-fci-big-spring-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Big Spring locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Big Spring yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Big Spring. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Big%20Spring) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-camp-fci-big-spring-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FCI Big Spring Camp (TX) FCI Big Spring Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Big Spring, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Big Spring (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-fci-big-spring-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/big-camp-fci-big-spring-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Big Spring Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Big Spring Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Big Spring Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Big%20Spring%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bro-mdc-brooklyn-metropolitan-detention-center-new-york # MDC Brooklyn (NY) MDC Brooklyn (NY) is a administrative security Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bro/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bro-mdc-brooklyn-metropolitan-detention-center-new-york/lockdowns) ## Know when MDC Brooklyn locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for MDC Brooklyn yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for MDC Brooklyn. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20MDC%20Brooklyn) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bry-fpc-bryan-federal-prison-camp-texas # FPC Bryan (TX) FPC Bryan (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/bry/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bry-fpc-bryan-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FPC Bryan locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FPC Bryan yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FPC Bryan. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FPC%20Bryan) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bux-fcc-butner-federal-correctional-complex-north-carolina # FCC Butner (NC) FCC Butner (NC) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Butner&name=Butner&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/bux-fcc-butner-federal-correctional-complex-north-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Butner locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Butner. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Butner) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina # FMC Butner (NC) FMC Butner (NC) is a administrative security Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Butner Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium I Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/buh/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Butner locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Butner yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Butner. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Butner) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina # FCI Butner Low (NC) FCI Butner Low (NC) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FMC Butner](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium I Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/buf/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Butner Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Butner Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Butner Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Butner%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina # FCI Butner Medium I (NC) FCI Butner Medium I (NC) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FMC Butner](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Butner Medium I Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/but/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Butner Medium I locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Butner Medium I yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Butner Medium I. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Butner%20Medium%20I) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina # FCI Butner Medium I Camp (NC) FCI Butner Medium I Camp (NC) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Butner, North Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FMC Butner](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Butner Medium I (NC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Butner Medium I Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Butner Medium I Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Butner Medium I Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Butner%20Medium%20I%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina # FCI Butner Medium II (NC) FCI Butner Medium II (NC) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FMC Butner](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buh-fmc-butner-federal-medical-center-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/buf-fci-butner-low-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-fci-butner-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina), [FCI Butner Medium I Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/but-camp-fci-butner-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-north-carolina). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/btf/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/btf-fci-butner-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-north-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Butner Medium II locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Butner Medium II yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Butner Medium II. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Butner%20Medium%20II) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-usp-canaan-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania # USP Canaan (PA) USP Canaan (PA) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Waymart, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [USP Canaan Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-camp-usp-canaan-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/caa/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-usp-canaan-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Canaan locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Canaan yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Canaan. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Canaan) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-camp-usp-canaan-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania # USP Canaan Camp (PA) USP Canaan Camp (PA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Waymart, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [USP Canaan (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-usp-canaan-united-states-penitentiary-pennsylvania). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/caa-camp-usp-canaan-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Canaan Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Canaan Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Canaan Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Canaan%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-fmc-carswell-federal-medical-center-texas # FMC Carswell (TX) FMC Carswell (TX) is a administrative security Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FMC Carswell Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-camp-fmc-carswell-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/crw/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-fmc-carswell-federal-medical-center-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Carswell locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Carswell yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Carswell. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Carswell) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-camp-fmc-carswell-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FMC Carswell Camp (TX) FMC Carswell Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Fort Worth, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FMC Carswell (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-fmc-carswell-federal-medical-center-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/crw-camp-fmc-carswell-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Carswell Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Carswell Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Carswell Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Carswell%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ccc-mcc-chicago-metropolitan-correctional-center-illinois # MCC Chicago (IL) MCC Chicago (IL) is a administrative security Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ccc/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ccc-mcc-chicago-metropolitan-correctional-center-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when MCC Chicago locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for MCC Chicago yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for MCC Chicago. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20MCC%20Chicago) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cox-fcc-coleman-federal-correctional-complex-florida # FCC Coleman (FL) FCC Coleman (FL) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Coleman&name=Coleman&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cox-fcc-coleman-federal-correctional-complex-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Coleman locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Coleman. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Coleman) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida # USP Coleman I (FL) USP Coleman I (FL) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Coleman II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [FCI Coleman Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida), [FCI Coleman Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida), [FCI Coleman Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/cop/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Coleman I locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Coleman I yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Coleman I. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Coleman%20I) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida # USP Coleman II (FL) USP Coleman II (FL) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Sumterville, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Coleman I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [FCI Coleman Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida), [FCI Coleman Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida), [FCI Coleman Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/clp/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Coleman II locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Coleman II yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Coleman II. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Coleman%20II) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida # FCI Coleman Low (FL) FCI Coleman Low (FL) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Sumterville, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Coleman I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [USP Coleman II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [FCI Coleman Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Coleman Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/col/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Coleman Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Coleman Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Coleman Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Coleman%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida # FCI Coleman Low Camp (FL) FCI Coleman Low Camp (FL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Sumterville, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Coleman I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [USP Coleman II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [FCI Coleman Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Coleman Low (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Coleman Low Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Coleman Low Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Coleman Low Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Coleman%20Low%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida # FCI Coleman Medium (FL) FCI Coleman Medium (FL) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Sumterville, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Coleman I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cop-usp-coleman-i-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [USP Coleman II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/clp-usp-coleman-ii-united-states-penitentiary-florida), [FCI Coleman Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-fci-coleman-low-federal-correctional-institution-florida), [FCI Coleman Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/col-camp-fci-coleman-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/com/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/com-fci-coleman-medium-federal-correctional-institution-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Coleman Medium locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Coleman Medium yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Coleman Medium. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Coleman%20Medium) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-fci-cumberland-federal-correctional-institution-maryland # FCI Cumberland (MD) FCI Cumberland (MD) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Cumberland Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-camp-fci-cumberland-camp-federal-prison-camp-maryland). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/cum/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-fci-cumberland-federal-correctional-institution-maryland/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Cumberland locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Cumberland yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Cumberland. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Cumberland) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-camp-fci-cumberland-camp-federal-prison-camp-maryland # FCI Cumberland Camp (MD) FCI Cumberland Camp (MD) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Cumberland, Maryland. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Cumberland (MD)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-fci-cumberland-federal-correctional-institution-maryland). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/cum-camp-fci-cumberland-camp-federal-prison-camp-maryland/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Cumberland Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Cumberland Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Cumberland Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Cumberland%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-fci-danbury-federal-correctional-institution-connecticut # FCI Danbury (CT) FCI Danbury (CT) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Danbury Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-camp-fci-danbury-camp-federal-prison-camp-connecticut). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/dan/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-fci-danbury-federal-correctional-institution-connecticut/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Danbury locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Danbury yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Danbury. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Danbury) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-camp-fci-danbury-camp-federal-prison-camp-connecticut # FCI Danbury Camp (CT) FCI Danbury Camp (CT) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Danbury, Connecticut. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Danbury (CT)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-fci-danbury-federal-correctional-institution-connecticut). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dan-camp-fci-danbury-camp-federal-prison-camp-connecticut/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Danbury Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Danbury Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Danbury Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Danbury%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-fmc-devens-federal-medical-center-massachusetts # FMC Devens (MA) FMC Devens (MA) is a administrative security Federal Medical Center in Ayer, Massachusetts. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FMC Devens Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-camp-fmc-devens-camp-federal-prison-camp-massachusetts). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/dev/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-fmc-devens-federal-medical-center-massachusetts/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Devens locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Devens yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Devens. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Devens) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-camp-fmc-devens-camp-federal-prison-camp-massachusetts # FMC Devens Camp (MA) FMC Devens Camp (MA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Ayer, Massachusetts. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FMC Devens (MA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-fmc-devens-federal-medical-center-massachusetts). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dev-camp-fmc-devens-camp-federal-prison-camp-massachusetts/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Devens Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Devens Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Devens Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Devens%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dth-fpc-duluth-federal-prison-camp-minnesota # FPC Duluth (MN) FPC Duluth (MN) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, Minnesota. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/dth/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/dth-fpc-duluth-federal-prison-camp-minnesota/lockdowns) ## Know when FPC Duluth locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FPC Duluth yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FPC Duluth. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FPC%20Duluth) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-fci-edgefield-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina # FCI Edgefield (SC) FCI Edgefield (SC) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Edgefield, South Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Edgefield Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-camp-fci-edgefield-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/edg/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-fci-edgefield-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Edgefield locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Edgefield yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Edgefield. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Edgefield) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-camp-fci-edgefield-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina # FCI Edgefield Camp (SC) FCI Edgefield Camp (SC) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Edgefield, South Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Edgefield (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-fci-edgefield-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/edg-camp-fci-edgefield-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Edgefield Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Edgefield Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Edgefield Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Edgefield%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fci-elkton-federal-correctional-institution-ohio # FCI Elkton (OH) FCI Elkton (OH) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Lisbon, Ohio. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Elkton Satellite Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fsl-fci-elkton-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-ohio). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/elk/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fci-elkton-federal-correctional-institution-ohio/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Elkton locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Elkton yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Elkton. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Elkton) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fsl-fci-elkton-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-ohio # FCI Elkton Satellite Low (OH) FCI Elkton Satellite Low (OH) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Lisbon, Ohio. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Elkton (OH)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fci-elkton-federal-correctional-institution-ohio). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/elk-fsl-fci-elkton-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-ohio/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Elkton Satellite Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Elkton Satellite Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Elkton Satellite Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Elkton%20Satellite%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-fci-el-reno-federal-correctional-institution-oklahoma # FCI El Reno (OK) FCI El Reno (OK) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI El Reno Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-camp-fci-el-reno-camp-federal-prison-camp-oklahoma). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ere/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-fci-el-reno-federal-correctional-institution-oklahoma/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI El Reno locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI El Reno yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI El Reno. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20El%20Reno) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-camp-fci-el-reno-camp-federal-prison-camp-oklahoma # FCI El Reno Camp (OK) FCI El Reno Camp (OK) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in El Reno, Oklahoma. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI El Reno (OK)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-fci-el-reno-federal-correctional-institution-oklahoma). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ere-camp-fci-el-reno-camp-federal-prison-camp-oklahoma/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI El Reno Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI El Reno Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI El Reno Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20El%20Reno%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fci-englewood-federal-correctional-institution-colorado # FCI Englewood (CO) FCI Englewood (CO) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Littleton, Colorado. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Englewood Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fdc-fci-englewood-detention-center-federal-detention-center-colorado). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/eng/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fci-englewood-federal-correctional-institution-colorado/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Englewood locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Englewood yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Englewood. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Englewood) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fdc-fci-englewood-detention-center-federal-detention-center-colorado # FCI Englewood Detention Center (CO) FCI Englewood Detention Center (CO) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Littleton, Colorado. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Englewood (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fci-englewood-federal-correctional-institution-colorado). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/eng-fdc-fci-englewood-detention-center-federal-detention-center-colorado/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Englewood Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Englewood Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Englewood Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Englewood%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/est-fci-estill-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina # FCI Estill (SC) FCI Estill (SC) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Estill, South Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/est/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/est-fci-estill-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Estill locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Estill yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Estill. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Estill) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fci-fairton-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey # FCI Fairton (NJ) FCI Fairton (NJ) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Satellite units on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Fairton Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-camp-fci-fairton-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey), [FCI Fairton Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fdc-fci-fairton-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-jersey). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/fai/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fci-fairton-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Fairton locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Fairton yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Fairton. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Fairton) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-camp-fci-fairton-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey # FCI Fairton Camp (NJ) FCI Fairton Camp (NJ) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Fairton, New Jersey. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Fairton Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fdc-fci-fairton-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-jersey). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Fairton (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fci-fairton-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-camp-fci-fairton-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Fairton Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Fairton Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Fairton Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Fairton%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fdc-fci-fairton-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-jersey # FCI Fairton Detention Center (NJ) FCI Fairton Detention Center (NJ) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Fairton, New Jersey. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Fairton Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-camp-fci-fairton-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Fairton (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fci-fairton-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fai-fdc-fci-fairton-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-jersey/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Fairton Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Fairton Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Fairton Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Fairton%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flx-fcc-florence-federal-correctional-complex-colorado # FCC Florence (CO) FCC Florence (CO) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Florence&name=Florence&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flx-fcc-florence-federal-correctional-complex-colorado/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Florence locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Florence. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Florence) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-fci-florence-federal-correctional-institution-colorado # FCI Florence (CO) FCI Florence (CO) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Florence, Colorado. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Florence ADMAX](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flm-usp-florence-admax-united-states-penitentiary-colorado), [USP Florence - High](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flp-usp-florence-high-united-states-penitentiary-colorado). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Florence Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-camp-fci-florence-camp-federal-prison-camp-colorado). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/flf/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-fci-florence-federal-correctional-institution-colorado/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Florence locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Florence yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Florence. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Florence) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flm-usp-florence-admax-united-states-penitentiary-colorado # USP Florence ADMAX (CO) USP Florence ADMAX (CO) is a administrative security United States Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Florence](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-fci-florence-federal-correctional-institution-colorado), [FCI Florence Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-camp-fci-florence-camp-federal-prison-camp-colorado), [USP Florence - High](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flp-usp-florence-high-united-states-penitentiary-colorado). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/flm/) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flm-usp-florence-admax-united-states-penitentiary-colorado/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Florence ADMAX locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Florence ADMAX yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Florence ADMAX. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Florence%20%20ADMAX) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-camp-fci-florence-camp-federal-prison-camp-colorado # FCI Florence Camp (CO) FCI Florence Camp (CO) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Florence, Colorado. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Florence ADMAX](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flm-usp-florence-admax-united-states-penitentiary-colorado), [USP Florence - High](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flp-usp-florence-high-united-states-penitentiary-colorado). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Florence (CO)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-fci-florence-federal-correctional-institution-colorado). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-camp-fci-florence-camp-federal-prison-camp-colorado/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Florence Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Florence Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Florence Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Florence%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flp-usp-florence-high-united-states-penitentiary-colorado # USP Florence - High (CO) USP Florence - High (CO) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Florence](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-fci-florence-federal-correctional-institution-colorado), [USP Florence ADMAX](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flm-usp-florence-admax-united-states-penitentiary-colorado), [FCI Florence Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flf-camp-fci-florence-camp-federal-prison-camp-colorado). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/flp/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/flp-usp-florence-high-united-states-penitentiary-colorado/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Florence - High locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Florence - High yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Florence - High. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Florence%20-%20High) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fox-fcc-forrest-city-federal-correctional-complex-arkansas # FCC Forrest City (AR) FCC Forrest City (AR) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Forrest City, Arkansas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Forrest+City&name=Forrest+City&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fox-fcc-forrest-city-federal-correctional-complex-arkansas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Forrest City locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Forrest City. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Forrest%20City) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-fci-forrest-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas # FCI Forrest City Low (AR) FCI Forrest City Low (AR) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Forrest City, Arkansas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Forrest City Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Forrest City Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-camp-fci-forrest-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-arkansas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/for/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-fci-forrest-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Forrest City Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Forrest City Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Forrest City Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Forrest%20City%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-camp-fci-forrest-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-arkansas # FCI Forrest City Low Camp (AR) FCI Forrest City Low Camp (AR) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Forrest City, Arkansas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Forrest City Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Forrest City Low (AR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-fci-forrest-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-camp-fci-forrest-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-arkansas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Forrest City Low Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Forrest City Low Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Forrest City Low Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Forrest%20City%20Low%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas # FCI Forrest City Medium (AR) FCI Forrest City Medium (AR) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Forrest City, Arkansas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Forrest City Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-fci-forrest-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas), [FCI Forrest City Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/for-camp-fci-forrest-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-arkansas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/fom/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Forrest City Medium locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Forrest City Medium yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage ### Death[July 2026 Inmate death](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas/news/1-july-2026-inmate-death) July 28, 2026 An inmate died. - Jul 28, 2026 [Inmate dies after being found unresponsive at Forrest City prison](https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigAJBVV95cUxOWnJHaS1wYkticGFObHNzYTRtNE1xQ0ZqYzdhdUlZcXZIa1BGalIzTXUtNDlJSGZoSGYyN2J4a2s3OFBCczBmd3F2dFN5S1FmaEZFMnBULUpIdTc5bkxpRUw3VFJQNmFRVnd1NVkzYWJMOTUtclRCcldLRTE2bHZENmpzWTJlZHV6UHlxX1BCdk5PbUVTNGQxekdhSElMUmVnX2poVGdqMzkyY2lGdUtHbHpSc252R1NaUU5CRGMxQkdBcGtzRjdPY0gyQXMxV19VcHpqdW0xc0xzNnBYNEdQNElHVHJYZzNUcmNzODFJdjB6ZU9TR0NIdDNSZW5lenZ4?oc=5) KATV [More coverage of this event (6 more) →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas/news/1-july-2026-inmate-death) [All coverage →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/fom-fci-forrest-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-arkansas/articles) **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Forrest%20City%20Medium) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-fci-fort-dix-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey # FCI Fort Dix (NJ) FCI Fort Dix (NJ) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Joint Base Mdl, New Jersey. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Fort Dix Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-camp-fci-fort-dix-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ftd/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-fci-fort-dix-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Fort Dix locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Fort Dix yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Fort Dix. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Fort%20Dix) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-camp-fci-fort-dix-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey # FCI Fort Dix Camp (NJ) FCI Fort Dix Camp (NJ) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Joint Base Mdl, New Jersey. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Fort Dix (NJ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-fci-fort-dix-federal-correctional-institution-new-jersey). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftd-camp-fci-fort-dix-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-jersey/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Fort Dix Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Fort Dix Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Fort Dix Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Fort%20Dix%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fmc-fort-worth-federal-medical-center-texas # FMC Fort Worth (TX) FMC Fort Worth (TX) is a administrative security Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FMC Fort Worth Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fdc-fmc-fort-worth-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ftw/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fmc-fort-worth-federal-medical-center-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Fort Worth locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Fort Worth yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Fort Worth. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Fort%20Worth) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fdc-fmc-fort-worth-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas # FMC Fort Worth Detention Center (TX) FMC Fort Worth Detention Center (TX) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FMC Fort Worth (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fmc-fort-worth-federal-medical-center-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/ftw-fdc-fmc-fort-worth-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Fort Worth Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Fort Worth Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Fort Worth Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Fort%20Worth%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-fci-gilmer-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia # FCI Gilmer (WV) FCI Gilmer (WV) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Glenville, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Gilmer Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-camp-fci-gilmer-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/gil/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-fci-gilmer-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Gilmer locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Gilmer yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Gilmer. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Gilmer) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-camp-fci-gilmer-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia # FCI Gilmer Camp (WV) FCI Gilmer Camp (WV) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Glenville, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Gilmer (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-fci-gilmer-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gil-camp-fci-gilmer-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Gilmer Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Gilmer Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Gilmer Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Gilmer%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-fci-greenville-federal-correctional-institution-illinois # FCI Greenville (IL) FCI Greenville (IL) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Greenville, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Greenville Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-camp-fci-greenville-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/gre/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-fci-greenville-federal-correctional-institution-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Greenville locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Greenville yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Greenville. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Greenville) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-camp-fci-greenville-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois # FCI Greenville Camp (IL) FCI Greenville Camp (IL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Greenville, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Greenville (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-fci-greenville-federal-correctional-institution-illinois). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gre-camp-fci-greenville-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Greenville Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Greenville Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Greenville Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Greenville%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gua-mdc-guaynabo-metropolitan-detention-center-puerto-rico # MDC Guaynabo (PR) MDC Guaynabo (PR) is a administrative security Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/gua/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/gua-mdc-guaynabo-metropolitan-detention-center-puerto-rico/lockdowns) ## Know when MDC Guaynabo locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for MDC Guaynabo yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for MDC Guaynabo. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20MDC%20Guaynabo) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hax-fcc-hazelton-federal-correctional-complex-west-virginia # FCC Hazelton (WV) FCC Hazelton (WV) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Hazelton&name=Hazelton&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hax-fcc-hazelton-federal-correctional-complex-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Hazelton locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Hazelton. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Hazelton) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-fci-hazelton-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia # FCI Hazelton (WV) FCI Hazelton (WV) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Hazelton](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-usp-hazelton-united-states-penitentiary-west-virginia), [USP Hazelton Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-camp-usp-hazelton-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-sff-fci-hazelton-secure-female-facility-west-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/haf/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-fci-hazelton-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Hazelton locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Hazelton yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Hazelton. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Hazelton) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-usp-hazelton-united-states-penitentiary-west-virginia # USP Hazelton (WV) USP Hazelton (WV) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Hazelton](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-fci-hazelton-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia), [FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-sff-fci-hazelton-secure-female-facility-west-virginia). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [USP Hazelton Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-camp-usp-hazelton-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/haz/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-usp-hazelton-united-states-penitentiary-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Hazelton locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Hazelton yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Hazelton. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Hazelton) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-camp-usp-hazelton-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia # USP Hazelton Camp (WV) USP Hazelton Camp (WV) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Hazelton](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-fci-hazelton-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia), [FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-sff-fci-hazelton-secure-female-facility-west-virginia). This is a satellite unit of [USP Hazelton (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-usp-hazelton-united-states-penitentiary-west-virginia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-camp-usp-hazelton-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Hazelton Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Hazelton Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Hazelton Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Hazelton%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-sff-fci-hazelton-secure-female-facility-west-virginia # FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility (WV) FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility (WV) is a federal facility in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Hazelton](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-usp-hazelton-united-states-penitentiary-west-virginia), [USP Hazelton Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haz-camp-usp-hazelton-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Hazelton (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-fci-hazelton-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/haf-sff-fci-hazelton-secure-female-facility-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Hazelton Secure Female Facility. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Hazelton%20Secure%20Female%20Facility) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-fci-herlong-federal-correctional-institution-california # FCI Herlong (CA) FCI Herlong (CA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Herlong, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Herlong Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-camp-fci-herlong-camp-federal-prison-camp-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/her/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-fci-herlong-federal-correctional-institution-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Herlong locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Herlong yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Herlong. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Herlong) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-camp-fci-herlong-camp-federal-prison-camp-california # FCI Herlong Camp (CA) FCI Herlong Camp (CA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Herlong, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Herlong (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-fci-herlong-federal-correctional-institution-california). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/her-camp-fci-herlong-camp-federal-prison-camp-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Herlong Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Herlong Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Herlong Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Herlong%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hon-fdc-honolulu-federal-detention-center-hawaii # FDC Honolulu (HI) FDC Honolulu (HI) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/hon/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hon-fdc-honolulu-federal-detention-center-hawaii/lockdowns) ## Know when FDC Honolulu locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FDC Honolulu yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FDC Honolulu. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FDC%20Honolulu) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hou-fdc-houston-federal-detention-center-texas # FDC Houston (TX) FDC Houston (TX) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Houston, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/hou/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/hou-fdc-houston-federal-detention-center-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FDC Houston locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FDC Houston yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FDC Houston. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FDC%20Houston) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fci-jesup-federal-correctional-institution-georgia # FCI Jesup (GA) FCI Jesup (GA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Jesup, Georgia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite units on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Jesup Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-camp-fci-jesup-camp-federal-prison-camp-georgia), [FCI Jesup Satellite Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fsl-fci-jesup-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-georgia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/jes/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fci-jesup-federal-correctional-institution-georgia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Jesup locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Jesup yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Jesup. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Jesup) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-camp-fci-jesup-camp-federal-prison-camp-georgia # FCI Jesup Camp (GA) FCI Jesup Camp (GA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Jesup, Georgia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Jesup Satellite Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fsl-fci-jesup-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-georgia). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Jesup (GA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fci-jesup-federal-correctional-institution-georgia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-camp-fci-jesup-camp-federal-prison-camp-georgia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Jesup Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Jesup Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Jesup Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Jesup%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fsl-fci-jesup-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-georgia # FCI Jesup Satellite Low (GA) FCI Jesup Satellite Low (GA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Jesup, Georgia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Jesup Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-camp-fci-jesup-camp-federal-prison-camp-georgia). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Jesup (GA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fci-jesup-federal-correctional-institution-georgia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/jes-fsl-fci-jesup-satellite-low-federal-correctional-institution-georgia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Jesup Satellite Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Jesup Satellite Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Jesup Satellite Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Jesup%20Satellite%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-fci-la-tuna-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI La Tuna (TX) FCI La Tuna (TX) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Anthony, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI La Tuna Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-camp-fci-la-tuna-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lat/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-fci-la-tuna-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI La Tuna locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI La Tuna yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI La Tuna. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20La%20Tuna) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-camp-fci-la-tuna-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FCI La Tuna Camp (TX) FCI La Tuna Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Anthony, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI La Tuna (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-fci-la-tuna-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lat-camp-fci-la-tuna-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI La Tuna Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI La Tuna Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI La Tuna Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20La%20Tuna%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-fci-leavenworth-federal-correctional-institution-kansas # FCI Leavenworth (KS) FCI Leavenworth (KS) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Leavenworth, Kansas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Leavenworth Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-camp-fci-leavenworth-camp-federal-prison-camp-kansas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lvn/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-fci-leavenworth-federal-correctional-institution-kansas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Leavenworth locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Leavenworth yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Leavenworth. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Leavenworth) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-camp-fci-leavenworth-camp-federal-prison-camp-kansas # FCI Leavenworth Camp (KS) FCI Leavenworth Camp (KS) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Leavenworth, Kansas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Leavenworth (KS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-fci-leavenworth-federal-correctional-institution-kansas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lvn-camp-fci-leavenworth-camp-federal-prison-camp-kansas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Leavenworth Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Leavenworth Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Leavenworth Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Leavenworth%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-usp-lee-united-states-penitentiary-virginia # USP Lee (VA) USP Lee (VA) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Pennington Gap, Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [USP Lee Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-camp-usp-lee-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lee/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-usp-lee-united-states-penitentiary-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Lee locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Lee yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Lee. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Lee) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-camp-usp-lee-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia # USP Lee Camp (VA) USP Lee Camp (VA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Pennington Gap, Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [USP Lee (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-usp-lee-united-states-penitentiary-virginia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lee-camp-usp-lee-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Lee Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Lee Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Lee Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Lee%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-fci-lewisburg-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania # FCI Lewisburg (PA) FCI Lewisburg (PA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Lewisburg Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-camp-fci-lewisburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lew/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-fci-lewisburg-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Lewisburg locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Lewisburg yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Lewisburg. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Lewisburg) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-camp-fci-lewisburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania # FCI Lewisburg Camp (PA) FCI Lewisburg Camp (PA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Lewisburg (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-fci-lewisburg-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lew-camp-fci-lewisburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Lewisburg Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Lewisburg Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Lewisburg Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Lewisburg%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-fmc-lexington-federal-medical-center-kentucky # FMC Lexington (KY) FMC Lexington (KY) is a administrative security Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FMC Lexington Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-camp-fmc-lexington-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lex/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-fmc-lexington-federal-medical-center-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Lexington locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Lexington yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Lexington. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Lexington) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-camp-fmc-lexington-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky # FMC Lexington Camp (KY) FMC Lexington Camp (KY) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Lexington, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FMC Lexington (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-fmc-lexington-federal-medical-center-kentucky). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lex-camp-fmc-lexington-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Lexington Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Lexington Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Lexington Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Lexington%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lox-fcc-lompoc-federal-correctional-complex-california # FCC Lompoc (CA) FCC Lompoc (CA) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Lompoc, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Lompoc&name=Lompoc&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lox-fcc-lompoc-federal-correctional-complex-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Lompoc locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Lompoc. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Lompoc) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lof-fci-lompoc-i-federal-correctional-institution-california # FCI Lompoc I (CA) FCI Lompoc I (CA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Lompoc II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-fci-lompoc-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california), [FCI Lompoc II Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-camp-fci-lompoc-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lof/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lof-fci-lompoc-i-federal-correctional-institution-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Lompoc I locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Lompoc I yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Lompoc I. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Lompoc%20I) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-fci-lompoc-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california # FCI Lompoc II (CA) FCI Lompoc II (CA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Lompoc I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lof-fci-lompoc-i-federal-correctional-institution-california). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Lompoc II Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-camp-fci-lompoc-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lom/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-fci-lompoc-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Lompoc II locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Lompoc II yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Lompoc II. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Lompoc%20II) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-camp-fci-lompoc-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-california # FCI Lompoc II Camp (CA) FCI Lompoc II Camp (CA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Lompoc, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Lompoc I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lof-fci-lompoc-i-federal-correctional-institution-california). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Lompoc II (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-fci-lompoc-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lom-camp-fci-lompoc-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Lompoc II Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Lompoc II Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Lompoc II Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Lompoc%20II%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lor-fci-loretto-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania # FCI Loretto (PA) FCI Loretto (PA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/lor/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/lor-fci-loretto-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Loretto locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Loretto yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Loretto. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Loretto) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/los-mdc-los-angeles-metropolitan-detention-center-california # MDC Los Angeles (CA) MDC Los Angeles (CA) is a administrative security Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/los/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/los-mdc-los-angeles-metropolitan-detention-center-california/lockdowns) ## Know when MDC Los Angeles locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for MDC Los Angeles yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for MDC Los Angeles. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20MDC%20Los%20Angeles) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-fci-manchester-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky # FCI Manchester (KY) FCI Manchester (KY) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Manchester, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Manchester Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-camp-fci-manchester-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/man/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-fci-manchester-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Manchester locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Manchester yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Manchester. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Manchester) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-camp-fci-manchester-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky # FCI Manchester Camp (KY) FCI Manchester Camp (KY) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Manchester, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Manchester (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-fci-manchester-federal-correctional-institution-kentucky). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/man-camp-fci-manchester-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Manchester Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Manchester Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Manchester Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Manchester%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-fci-marianna-federal-correctional-institution-florida # FCI Marianna (FL) FCI Marianna (FL) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Marianna, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Marianna Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-camp-fci-marianna-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mna/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-fci-marianna-federal-correctional-institution-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Marianna locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Marianna yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Marianna. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Marianna) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-camp-fci-marianna-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida # FCI Marianna Camp (FL) FCI Marianna Camp (FL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Marianna, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Marianna (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-fci-marianna-federal-correctional-institution-florida). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mna-camp-fci-marianna-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Marianna Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Marianna Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Marianna Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Marianna%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-fci-marion-federal-correctional-institution-illinois # FCI Marion (IL) FCI Marion (IL) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Marion, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Marion Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-camp-fci-marion-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mar/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-fci-marion-federal-correctional-institution-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Marion locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Marion yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Marion. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Marion) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-camp-fci-marion-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois # FCI Marion Camp (IL) FCI Marion Camp (IL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Marion, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Marion (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-fci-marion-federal-correctional-institution-illinois). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mar-camp-fci-marion-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Marion Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Marion Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Marion Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Marion%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-usp-mccreary-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky # USP McCreary (KY) USP McCreary (KY) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Pine Knot, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [USP McCreary Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-camp-usp-mccreary-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mcr/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-usp-mccreary-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when USP McCreary locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP McCreary yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP McCreary. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20McCreary) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-camp-usp-mccreary-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky # USP McCreary Camp (KY) USP McCreary Camp (KY) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Pine Knot, Kentucky. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [USP McCreary (KY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-usp-mccreary-united-states-penitentiary-kentucky). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcr-camp-usp-mccreary-camp-federal-prison-camp-kentucky/lockdowns) ## Know when USP McCreary Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP McCreary Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP McCreary Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20McCreary%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-fci-mcdowell-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia # FCI McDowell (WV) FCI McDowell (WV) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Welch, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI McDowell Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-camp-fci-mcdowell-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mcd/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-fci-mcdowell-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI McDowell locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI McDowell yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI McDowell. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20McDowell) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-camp-fci-mcdowell-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia # FCI McDowell Camp (WV) FCI McDowell Camp (WV) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Welch, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI McDowell (WV)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-fci-mcdowell-federal-correctional-institution-west-virginia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mcd-camp-fci-mcdowell-camp-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI McDowell Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI McDowell Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI McDowell Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20McDowell%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-fci-mckean-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania # FCI McKean (PA) FCI McKean (PA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Lewis Run, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI McKean Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-camp-fci-mckean-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mck/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-fci-mckean-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI McKean locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI McKean yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI McKean. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20McKean) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-camp-fci-mckean-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania # FCI McKean Camp (PA) FCI McKean Camp (PA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Lewis Run, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI McKean (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-fci-mckean-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mck-camp-fci-mckean-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI McKean Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI McKean Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI McKean Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20McKean%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fci-memphis-federal-correctional-institution-tennessee # FCI Memphis (TN) FCI Memphis (TN) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Memphis, Tennessee. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Memphis Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fdc-fci-memphis-detention-center-federal-detention-center-tennessee). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mem/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fci-memphis-federal-correctional-institution-tennessee/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Memphis locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Memphis yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Memphis. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Memphis) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fdc-fci-memphis-detention-center-federal-detention-center-tennessee # FCI Memphis Detention Center (TN) FCI Memphis Detention Center (TN) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Memphis (TN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fci-memphis-federal-correctional-institution-tennessee). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mem-fdc-fci-memphis-detention-center-federal-detention-center-tennessee/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Memphis Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Memphis Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Memphis Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Memphis%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-fci-mendota-federal-correctional-institution-california # FCI Mendota (CA) FCI Mendota (CA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Mendota, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Mendota Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-camp-fci-mendota-camp-federal-prison-camp-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/men/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-fci-mendota-federal-correctional-institution-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Mendota locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Mendota yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Mendota. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Mendota) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-camp-fci-mendota-camp-federal-prison-camp-california # FCI Mendota Camp (CA) FCI Mendota Camp (CA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Mendota, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Mendota (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-fci-mendota-federal-correctional-institution-california). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/men-camp-fci-mendota-camp-federal-prison-camp-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Mendota Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Mendota Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Mendota Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Mendota%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-fci-miami-federal-correctional-institution-florida # FCI Miami (FL) FCI Miami (FL) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Miami Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-camp-fci-miami-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mia/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-fci-miami-federal-correctional-institution-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Miami locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Miami yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Miami. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Miami) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mim-fdc-miami-federal-detention-center-florida # FDC Miami (FL) FDC Miami (FL) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Miami, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mim/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mim-fdc-miami-federal-detention-center-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FDC Miami locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FDC Miami yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FDC Miami. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FDC%20Miami) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-camp-fci-miami-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida # FCI Miami Camp (FL) FCI Miami Camp (FL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Miami, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Miami (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-fci-miami-federal-correctional-institution-florida). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mia-camp-fci-miami-camp-federal-prison-camp-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Miami Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Miami Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Miami Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Miami%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fci-milan-federal-correctional-institution-michigan # FCI Milan (MI) FCI Milan (MI) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, Michigan. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Milan Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fdc-fci-milan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-michigan). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mil/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fci-milan-federal-correctional-institution-michigan/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Milan locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Milan yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Milan. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Milan) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fdc-fci-milan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-michigan # FCI Milan Detention Center (MI) FCI Milan Detention Center (MI) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Milan, Michigan. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Milan (MI)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fci-milan-federal-correctional-institution-michigan). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mil-fdc-fci-milan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-michigan/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Milan Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Milan Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Milan Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Milan%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mon-fpc-montgomery-federal-prison-camp-alabama # FPC Montgomery (AL) FPC Montgomery (AL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery, Alabama. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mon/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mon-fpc-montgomery-federal-prison-camp-alabama/lockdowns) ## Know when FPC Montgomery locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FPC Montgomery yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FPC Montgomery. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FPC%20Montgomery) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mrg-fpc-morgantown-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia # FPC Morgantown (WV) FPC Morgantown (WV) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Morgantown, West Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/mrg/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/mrg-fpc-morgantown-federal-prison-camp-west-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FPC Morgantown locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FPC Morgantown yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FPC Morgantown. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FPC%20Morgantown) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oax-fcc-oakdale-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana # FCC Oakdale (LA) FCC Oakdale (LA) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Oakdale, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Oakdale&name=Oakdale&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oax-fcc-oakdale-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Oakdale locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Oakdale. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Oakdale) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oak-fci-oakdale-i-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana # FCI Oakdale I (LA) FCI Oakdale I (LA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Oakdale II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-fci-oakdale-ii-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana), [FCI Oakdale II Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-camp-fci-oakdale-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/oak/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oak-fci-oakdale-i-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Oakdale I locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Oakdale I yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Oakdale I. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Oakdale%20I) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-fci-oakdale-ii-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana # FCI Oakdale II (LA) FCI Oakdale II (LA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Oakdale I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oak-fci-oakdale-i-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Oakdale II Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-camp-fci-oakdale-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/oad/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-fci-oakdale-ii-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Oakdale II locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Oakdale II yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Oakdale II. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Oakdale%20II) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-camp-fci-oakdale-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana # FCI Oakdale II Camp (LA) FCI Oakdale II Camp (LA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Oakdale, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Oakdale I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oak-fci-oakdale-i-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Oakdale II (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-fci-oakdale-ii-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oad-camp-fci-oakdale-ii-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Oakdale II Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Oakdale II Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Oakdale II Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Oakdale%20II%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/okl-ftc-oklahoma-city-oklahoma # FTC Oklahoma City (OK) FTC Oklahoma City (OK) is a administrative security federal facility in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/okl/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/okl-ftc-oklahoma-city-oklahoma/lockdowns) ## Know when FTC Oklahoma City locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FTC Oklahoma City yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FTC Oklahoma City. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FTC%20Oklahoma%20City) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fci-otisville-federal-correctional-institution-new-york # FCI Otisville (NY) FCI Otisville (NY) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite units on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Otisville Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-camp-fci-otisville-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-york), [FCI Otisville Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fdc-fci-otisville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/otv/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fci-otisville-federal-correctional-institution-new-york/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Otisville locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Otisville yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Otisville. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Otisville) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-camp-fci-otisville-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-york # FCI Otisville Camp (NY) FCI Otisville Camp (NY) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Otisville, New York. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Otisville Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fdc-fci-otisville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Otisville (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fci-otisville-federal-correctional-institution-new-york). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-camp-fci-otisville-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-york/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Otisville Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Otisville Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Otisville Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Otisville%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fdc-fci-otisville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york # FCI Otisville Detention Center (NY) FCI Otisville Detention Center (NY) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Otisville, New York. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Otisville Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-camp-fci-otisville-camp-federal-prison-camp-new-york). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Otisville (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fci-otisville-federal-correctional-institution-new-york). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/otv-fdc-fci-otisville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Otisville Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Otisville Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Otisville Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Otisville%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oxf-fci-oxford-federal-correctional-institution-wisconsin # FCI Oxford (WI) FCI Oxford (WI) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Oxford, Wisconsin. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/oxf/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/oxf-fci-oxford-federal-correctional-institution-wisconsin/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Oxford locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Oxford yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Oxford. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Oxford) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-fci-pekin-federal-correctional-institution-illinois # FCI Pekin (IL) FCI Pekin (IL) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Pekin, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Pekin Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-camp-fci-pekin-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/pek/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-fci-pekin-federal-correctional-institution-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Pekin locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Pekin yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Pekin. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Pekin) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-camp-fci-pekin-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois # FCI Pekin Camp (IL) FCI Pekin Camp (IL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Pekin, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Pekin (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-fci-pekin-federal-correctional-institution-illinois). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pek-camp-fci-pekin-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Pekin Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Pekin Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Pekin Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Pekin%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pex-fcc-petersburg-federal-correctional-complex-virginia # FCC Petersburg (VA) FCC Petersburg (VA) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Hopewell, Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Petersburg&name=Petersburg&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pex-fcc-petersburg-federal-correctional-complex-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Petersburg locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Petersburg. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Petersburg) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-fci-petersburg-low-federal-correctional-institution-virginia # FCI Petersburg Low (VA) FCI Petersburg Low (VA) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Hopewell, Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Petersburg Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pem-fci-petersburg-medium-federal-correctional-institution-virginia). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Petersburg Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-camp-fci-petersburg-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/pet/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-fci-petersburg-low-federal-correctional-institution-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Petersburg Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Petersburg Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Petersburg Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Petersburg%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-camp-fci-petersburg-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia # FCI Petersburg Low Camp (VA) FCI Petersburg Low Camp (VA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Hopewell, Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Petersburg Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pem-fci-petersburg-medium-federal-correctional-institution-virginia). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Petersburg Low (VA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-fci-petersburg-low-federal-correctional-institution-virginia). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-camp-fci-petersburg-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Petersburg Low Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Petersburg Low Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Petersburg Low Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Petersburg%20Low%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pem-fci-petersburg-medium-federal-correctional-institution-virginia # FCI Petersburg Medium (VA) FCI Petersburg Medium (VA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Hopewell, Virginia. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Petersburg Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-fci-petersburg-low-federal-correctional-institution-virginia), [FCI Petersburg Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pet-camp-fci-petersburg-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-virginia). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/pem/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pem-fci-petersburg-medium-federal-correctional-institution-virginia/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Petersburg Medium locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Petersburg Medium yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Petersburg Medium. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Petersburg%20Medium) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phl-fdc-philadelphia-federal-detention-center-pennsylvania # FDC Philadelphia (PA) FDC Philadelphia (PA) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/phl/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phl-fdc-philadelphia-federal-detention-center-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FDC Philadelphia locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FDC Philadelphia yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FDC Philadelphia. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FDC%20Philadelphia) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fci-phoenix-federal-correctional-institution-arizona # FCI Phoenix (AZ) FCI Phoenix (AZ) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Phoenix, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite units on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Phoenix Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-camp-fci-phoenix-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona), [FCI Phoenix Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fdc-fci-phoenix-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/phx/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fci-phoenix-federal-correctional-institution-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Phoenix locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Phoenix yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Phoenix. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Phoenix) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-camp-fci-phoenix-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona # FCI Phoenix Camp (AZ) FCI Phoenix Camp (AZ) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Phoenix, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Phoenix Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fdc-fci-phoenix-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Phoenix (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fci-phoenix-federal-correctional-institution-arizona). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-camp-fci-phoenix-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Phoenix Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Phoenix Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Phoenix Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Phoenix%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fdc-fci-phoenix-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona # FCI Phoenix Detention Center (AZ) FCI Phoenix Detention Center (AZ) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Phoenix Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-camp-fci-phoenix-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Phoenix (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fci-phoenix-federal-correctional-institution-arizona). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/phx-fdc-fci-phoenix-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Phoenix Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Phoenix Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Phoenix Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Phoenix%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pox-fcc-pollock-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana # FCC Pollock (LA) FCC Pollock (LA) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Pollock, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Pollock&name=Pollock&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pox-fcc-pollock-federal-correctional-complex-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Pollock locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Pollock. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Pollock) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-fci-pollock-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana # FCI Pollock (LA) FCI Pollock (LA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Pollock, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Pollock](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pol-usp-pollock-united-states-penitentiary-louisiana). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Pollock Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-camp-fci-pollock-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/pom/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-fci-pollock-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Pollock locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Pollock yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Pollock. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Pollock) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pol-usp-pollock-united-states-penitentiary-louisiana # USP Pollock (LA) USP Pollock (LA) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Pollock](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-fci-pollock-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana), [FCI Pollock Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-camp-fci-pollock-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/pol/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pol-usp-pollock-united-states-penitentiary-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Pollock locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Pollock yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Pollock. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Pollock) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-camp-fci-pollock-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana # FCI Pollock Camp (LA) FCI Pollock Camp (LA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Pollock, Louisiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Pollock](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pol-usp-pollock-united-states-penitentiary-louisiana). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Pollock (LA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-fci-pollock-federal-correctional-institution-louisiana). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/pom-camp-fci-pollock-camp-federal-prison-camp-louisiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Pollock Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Pollock Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Pollock Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Pollock%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fci-ray-brook-federal-correctional-institution-new-york # FCI Ray Brook (NY) FCI Ray Brook (NY) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Ray Brook, New York. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Ray Brook Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fdc-fci-ray-brook-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/rbk/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fci-ray-brook-federal-correctional-institution-new-york/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Ray Brook locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Ray Brook yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Ray Brook. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Ray%20Brook) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fdc-fci-ray-brook-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york # FCI Ray Brook Detention Center (NY) FCI Ray Brook Detention Center (NY) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Ray Brook, New York. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Ray Brook (NY)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fci-ray-brook-federal-correctional-institution-new-york). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rbk-fdc-fci-ray-brook-detention-center-federal-detention-center-new-york/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Ray Brook Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Ray Brook Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Ray Brook Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Ray%20Brook%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rch-fmc-rochester-federal-medical-center-minnesota # FMC Rochester (MN) FMC Rochester (MN) is a administrative security Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/rch/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/rch-fmc-rochester-federal-medical-center-minnesota/lockdowns) ## Know when FMC Rochester locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FMC Rochester yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FMC Rochester. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FMC%20Rochester) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/saf-fci-safford-federal-correctional-institution-arizona # FCI Safford (AZ) FCI Safford (AZ) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Safford, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/saf/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/saf-fci-safford-federal-correctional-institution-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Safford locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Safford yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Safford. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Safford) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sdc-mcc-san-diego-metropolitan-correctional-center-california # MCC San Diego (CA) MCC San Diego (CA) is a administrative security Metropolitan Correctional Center in San Diego, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/sdc/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sdc-mcc-san-diego-metropolitan-correctional-center-california/lockdowns) ## Know when MCC San Diego locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for MCC San Diego yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for MCC San Diego. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20MCC%20San%20Diego) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sst-fci-sandstone-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota # FCI Sandstone (MN) FCI Sandstone (MN) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Sandstone, Minnesota. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/sst/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sst-fci-sandstone-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Sandstone locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Sandstone yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Sandstone. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Sandstone) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-fci-schuylkill-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania # FCI Schuylkill (PA) FCI Schuylkill (PA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Schuylkill Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-camp-fci-schuylkill-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/sch/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-fci-schuylkill-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Schuylkill locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Schuylkill yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Schuylkill. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Schuylkill) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-camp-fci-schuylkill-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania # FCI Schuylkill Camp (PA) FCI Schuylkill Camp (PA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Schuylkill (PA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-fci-schuylkill-federal-correctional-institution-pennsylvania). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sch-camp-fci-schuylkill-camp-federal-prison-camp-pennsylvania/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Schuylkill Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Schuylkill Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Schuylkill Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Schuylkill%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fci-seagoville-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI Seagoville (TX) FCI Seagoville (TX) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite units on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Seagoville Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-camp-fci-seagoville-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas), [FCI Seagoville Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fdc-fci-seagoville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/sea/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fci-seagoville-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Seagoville locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Seagoville yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Seagoville. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Seagoville) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-camp-fci-seagoville-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FCI Seagoville Camp (TX) FCI Seagoville Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Seagoville, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Seagoville Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fdc-fci-seagoville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Seagoville (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fci-seagoville-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-camp-fci-seagoville-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Seagoville Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Seagoville Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Seagoville Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Seagoville%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fdc-fci-seagoville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas # FCI Seagoville Detention Center (TX) FCI Seagoville Detention Center (TX) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Seagoville, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Seagoville Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-camp-fci-seagoville-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Seagoville (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fci-seagoville-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/sea-fdc-fci-seagoville-detention-center-federal-detention-center-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Seagoville Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Seagoville Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Seagoville Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Seagoville%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/set-fdc-seatac-federal-detention-center-washington # FDC SeaTac (WA) FDC SeaTac (WA) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Seattle, Washington. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/set/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/set-fdc-seatac-federal-detention-center-washington/lockdowns) ## Know when FDC SeaTac locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FDC SeaTac yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FDC SeaTac. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FDC%20SeaTac) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fci-sheridan-federal-correctional-institution-oregon # FCI Sheridan (OR) FCI Sheridan (OR) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Oregon. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Satellite units on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Sheridan Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-camp-fci-sheridan-camp-federal-prison-camp-oregon), [FCI Sheridan Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fdc-fci-sheridan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-oregon). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/she/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fci-sheridan-federal-correctional-institution-oregon/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Sheridan locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Sheridan yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Sheridan. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Sheridan) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-camp-fci-sheridan-camp-federal-prison-camp-oregon # FCI Sheridan Camp (OR) FCI Sheridan Camp (OR) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Sheridan, Oregon. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Sheridan Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fdc-fci-sheridan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-oregon). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Sheridan (OR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fci-sheridan-federal-correctional-institution-oregon). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-camp-fci-sheridan-camp-federal-prison-camp-oregon/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Sheridan Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Sheridan Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Sheridan Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Sheridan%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fdc-fci-sheridan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-oregon # FCI Sheridan Detention Center (OR) FCI Sheridan Detention Center (OR) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Sheridan, Oregon. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. Other units at this institution: [FCI Sheridan Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-camp-fci-sheridan-camp-federal-prison-camp-oregon). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Sheridan (OR)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fci-sheridan-federal-correctional-institution-oregon). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/she-fdc-fci-sheridan-detention-center-federal-detention-center-oregon/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Sheridan Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Sheridan Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Sheridan Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Sheridan%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/spg-mcfp-springfield-federal-medical-center-missouri # MCFP Springfield (MO) MCFP Springfield (MO) is a administrative security Federal Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:21 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/spg/) Last checked 2 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/spg-mcfp-springfield-federal-medical-center-missouri/lockdowns) ## Know when MCFP Springfield locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for MCFP Springfield yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for MCFP Springfield. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20MCFP%20Springfield) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-fci-talladega-federal-correctional-institution-alabama # FCI Talladega (AL) FCI Talladega (AL) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Talladega, Alabama. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Talladega Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-camp-fci-talladega-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tdg/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-fci-talladega-federal-correctional-institution-alabama/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Talladega locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Talladega yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Talladega. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Talladega) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-camp-fci-talladega-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama # FCI Talladega Camp (AL) FCI Talladega Camp (AL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Talladega, Alabama. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Talladega (AL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-fci-talladega-federal-correctional-institution-alabama). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tdg-camp-fci-talladega-camp-federal-prison-camp-alabama/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Talladega Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Talladega Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Talladega Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Talladega%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fci-tallahassee-federal-correctional-institution-florida # FCI Tallahassee (FL) FCI Tallahassee (FL) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Tallahassee Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fdc-fci-tallahassee-detention-center-federal-detention-center-florida). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tal/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fci-tallahassee-federal-correctional-institution-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Tallahassee locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Tallahassee yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Tallahassee. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Tallahassee) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fdc-fci-tallahassee-detention-center-federal-detention-center-florida # FCI Tallahassee Detention Center (FL) FCI Tallahassee Detention Center (FL) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Tallahassee, Florida. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Tallahassee (FL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fci-tallahassee-federal-correctional-institution-florida). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tal-fdc-fci-tallahassee-detention-center-federal-detention-center-florida/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Tallahassee Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Tallahassee Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Tallahassee Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Tallahassee%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thx-fcc-terre-haute-federal-correctional-complex-indiana # FCC Terre Haute (IN) FCC Terre Haute (IN) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Terre+Haute&name=Terre+Haute&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thx-fcc-terre-haute-federal-correctional-complex-indiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Terre Haute locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Terre Haute. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Terre%20Haute) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-fci-terre-haute-federal-correctional-institution-indiana # FCI Terre Haute (IN) FCI Terre Haute (IN) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Terre Haute](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thp-usp-terre-haute-united-states-penitentiary-indiana). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Terre Haute Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-camp-fci-terre-haute-camp-federal-prison-camp-indiana). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tha/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-fci-terre-haute-federal-correctional-institution-indiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Terre Haute locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Terre Haute yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Terre Haute. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Terre%20Haute) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thp-usp-terre-haute-united-states-penitentiary-indiana # USP Terre Haute (IN) USP Terre Haute (IN) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Terre Haute](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-fci-terre-haute-federal-correctional-institution-indiana), [FCI Terre Haute Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-camp-fci-terre-haute-camp-federal-prison-camp-indiana). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/thp/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thp-usp-terre-haute-united-states-penitentiary-indiana/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Terre Haute locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Terre Haute yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Terre Haute. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Terre%20Haute) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-camp-fci-terre-haute-camp-federal-prison-camp-indiana # FCI Terre Haute Camp (IN) FCI Terre Haute Camp (IN) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Terre Haute, Indiana. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Terre Haute](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/thp-usp-terre-haute-united-states-penitentiary-indiana). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Terre Haute (IN)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-fci-terre-haute-federal-correctional-institution-indiana). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tha-camp-fci-terre-haute-camp-federal-prison-camp-indiana/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Terre Haute Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Terre Haute Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Terre Haute Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Terre%20Haute%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-fci-texarkana-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI Texarkana (TX) FCI Texarkana (TX) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Texarkana Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-camp-fci-texarkana-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tex/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-fci-texarkana-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Texarkana locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Texarkana yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Texarkana. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Texarkana) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-camp-fci-texarkana-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FCI Texarkana Camp (TX) FCI Texarkana Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Texarkana, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Texarkana (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-fci-texarkana-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tex-camp-fci-texarkana-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Texarkana Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Texarkana Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Texarkana Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Texarkana%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-fci-thomson-federal-correctional-institution-illinois # FCI Thomson (IL) FCI Thomson (IL) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Thomson, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Thomson Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-camp-fci-thomson-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tom/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-fci-thomson-federal-correctional-institution-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Thomson locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Thomson yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Thomson. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Thomson) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-camp-fci-thomson-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois # FCI Thomson Camp (IL) FCI Thomson Camp (IL) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Thomson, Illinois. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Thomson (IL)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-fci-thomson-federal-correctional-institution-illinois). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tom-camp-fci-thomson-camp-federal-prison-camp-illinois/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Thomson Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Thomson Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Thomson Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Thomson%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-fci-three-rivers-federal-correctional-institution-texas # FCI Three Rivers (TX) FCI Three Rivers (TX) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Three Rivers, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Three Rivers Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-camp-fci-three-rivers-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/trv/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-fci-three-rivers-federal-correctional-institution-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Three Rivers locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Three Rivers yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Three Rivers. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Three%20Rivers) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-camp-fci-three-rivers-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas # FCI Three Rivers Camp (TX) FCI Three Rivers Camp (TX) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Three Rivers, Texas. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Three Rivers (TX)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-fci-three-rivers-federal-correctional-institution-texas). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/trv-camp-fci-three-rivers-camp-federal-prison-camp-texas/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Three Rivers Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Three Rivers Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Three Rivers Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Three%20Rivers%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcx-fcc-tucson-federal-correctional-complex-arizona # FCC Tucson (AZ) FCC Tucson (AZ) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Tucson, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Tucson&name=Tucson&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcx-fcc-tucson-federal-correctional-complex-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Tucson locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Tucson. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Tucson) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fci-tucson-federal-correctional-institution-arizona # FCI Tucson (AZ) FCI Tucson (AZ) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Tucson](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-usp-tucson-united-states-penitentiary-arizona), [USP Tucson Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-camp-usp-tucson-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Tucson Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fdc-fci-tucson-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tcn/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fci-tucson-federal-correctional-institution-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Tucson locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Tucson yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Tucson. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Tucson) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-usp-tucson-united-states-penitentiary-arizona # USP Tucson (AZ) USP Tucson (AZ) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Tucson](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fci-tucson-federal-correctional-institution-arizona), [FCI Tucson Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fdc-fci-tucson-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [USP Tucson Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-camp-usp-tucson-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/tcp/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-usp-tucson-united-states-penitentiary-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Tucson locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Tucson yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Tucson. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Tucson) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-camp-usp-tucson-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona # USP Tucson Camp (AZ) USP Tucson Camp (AZ) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Tucson, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Tucson](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fci-tucson-federal-correctional-institution-arizona), [FCI Tucson Detention Center](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fdc-fci-tucson-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona). This is a satellite unit of [USP Tucson (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-usp-tucson-united-states-penitentiary-arizona). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-camp-usp-tucson-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Tucson Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Tucson Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Tucson Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Tucson%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fdc-fci-tucson-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona # FCI Tucson Detention Center (AZ) FCI Tucson Detention Center (AZ) is a administrative security Federal Detention Center in Tucson, Arizona. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Tucson](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-usp-tucson-united-states-penitentiary-arizona), [USP Tucson Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcp-camp-usp-tucson-camp-federal-prison-camp-arizona). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Tucson (AZ)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fci-tucson-federal-correctional-institution-arizona). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/tcn-fdc-fci-tucson-detention-center-federal-detention-center-arizona/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Tucson Detention Center locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How administrative facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Tucson Detention Center yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Administrative facilities are the catch-all category: medical centers, detention centers, and transfer hubs. They hold everyone from pretrial defendants to people mid-transfer to people receiving long-term care, which means custody levels are mixed and the population changes constantly. If your loved one is at a detention center pretrial, know that these are often the hardest stretch of the whole sentence: more locked-down, less programming, worse phones. It gets better after designation (which prison you're assigned to), and that is not a platitude. It is the single most common reassurance I give families, because it is true. If it is a medical center, the medical mission drives everything, and the questions worth asking are about care coordination and how to get information as a family member, which the facility support groups handle better than any general guide can. Either way, treat an administrative stop as a phase, not the destination. The routines that make time move, work, programs, mail, and money, mostly start at the designated facility. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Tucson Detention Center. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Tucson%20Detention%20Center) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vix-fcc-victorville-federal-correctional-complex-california # FCC Victorville (CA) FCC Victorville (CA) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Victorville, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Victorville&name=Victorville&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vix-fcc-victorville-federal-correctional-complex-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Victorville locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Victorville. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Victorville) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vip-usp-victorville-united-states-penitentiary-california # USP Victorville (CA) USP Victorville (CA) is a high security United States Penitentiary in Victorville, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Victorville Medium I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-fci-victorville-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-california), [FCI Victorville Medium I Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-camp-fci-victorville-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-california), [FCI Victorville Medium II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vvm-fci-victorville-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/vip/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vip-usp-victorville-united-states-penitentiary-california/lockdowns) ## Know when USP Victorville locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How high facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for USP Victorville yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Highs and USPs are outside my lane, and I will not pretend otherwise. I did camp time. The daily reality of a penitentiary is a different world, and anyone who claims fluency across every level of the system is telling you something about themselves, not the system. What I can tell you is structural: cell housing, heavily controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), frequent lockdowns (everyone confined, movement stopped), and visiting that demands patience with procedure. The administrative machinery (mail (paper letters, opened and screened) rules, commissary (the prison store), phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance), sentence computation) is the same bureaucracy as everywhere else, so the paperwork parts of this site still apply. For the person-on-the-yard reality, you want people who lived it. The facility support groups matter more at this level than any other, and for case-specific strategy you want a consultant who actually knows penitentiaries. I am not that consultant, and I will say so for free rather than charge you to find out. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for USP Victorville. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20USP%20Victorville) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-fci-victorville-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-california # FCI Victorville Medium I (CA) FCI Victorville Medium I (CA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Victorville, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Victorville](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vip-usp-victorville-united-states-penitentiary-california), [FCI Victorville Medium II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vvm-fci-victorville-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Victorville Medium I Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-camp-fci-victorville-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/vim/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-fci-victorville-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Victorville Medium I locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Victorville Medium I yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Victorville Medium I. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Victorville%20Medium%20I) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-camp-fci-victorville-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-california # FCI Victorville Medium I Camp (CA) FCI Victorville Medium I Camp (CA) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Victorville, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Victorville](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vip-usp-victorville-united-states-penitentiary-california), [FCI Victorville Medium II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vvm-fci-victorville-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Victorville Medium I (CA)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-fci-victorville-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-california). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-camp-fci-victorville-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Victorville Medium I Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Victorville Medium I Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Victorville Medium I Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Victorville%20Medium%20I%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vvm-fci-victorville-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california # FCI Victorville Medium II (CA) FCI Victorville Medium II (CA) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Victorville, California. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [USP Victorville](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vip-usp-victorville-united-states-penitentiary-california), [FCI Victorville Medium I](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-fci-victorville-medium-i-federal-correctional-institution-california), [FCI Victorville Medium I Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vim-camp-fci-victorville-medium-i-camp-federal-prison-camp-california). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/vvm/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/vvm-fci-victorville-medium-ii-federal-correctional-institution-california/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Victorville Medium II locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Victorville Medium II yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Victorville Medium II. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Victorville%20Medium%20II) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/was-fci-waseca-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota # FCI Waseca (MN) FCI Waseca (MN) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Waseca, Minnesota. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/was/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/was-fci-waseca-federal-correctional-institution-minnesota/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Waseca locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Waseca yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Waseca. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Waseca) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-fci-williamsburg-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina # FCI Williamsburg (SC) FCI Williamsburg (SC) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Salters, South Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Williamsburg Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-camp-fci-williamsburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/wil/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-fci-williamsburg-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Williamsburg locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Williamsburg yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Williamsburg. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Williamsburg) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-camp-fci-williamsburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina # FCI Williamsburg Camp (SC) FCI Williamsburg Camp (SC) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Salters, South Carolina. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. This is a satellite unit of [FCI Williamsburg (SC)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-fci-williamsburg-federal-correctional-institution-south-carolina). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/wil-camp-fci-williamsburg-camp-federal-prison-camp-south-carolina/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Williamsburg Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Williamsburg Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Williamsburg Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Williamsburg%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yan-fpc-yankton-federal-prison-camp-south-dakota # FPC Yankton (SD) FPC Yankton (SD) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Yankton, South Dakota. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/yan/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yan-fpc-yankton-federal-prison-camp-south-dakota/lockdowns) ## Know when FPC Yankton locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FPC Yankton yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FPC Yankton. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FPC%20Yankton) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yax-fcc-yazoo-city-federal-correctional-complex-mississippi # FCC Yazoo City (MS) FCC Yazoo City (MS) is a Federal Correctional Complex in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:20 UTC. [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/search.jsp?q=FCC+Yazoo+City&name=Yazoo+City&facilityType=FCC) Last checked 3 minutes ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yax-fcc-yazoo-city-federal-correctional-complex-mississippi/lockdowns) ## Know when FCC Yazoo City locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## I can't tell you how it runs yet. I don't know this facility's security level, and a day at a camp has almost nothing in common with a day at a medium, so a generic writeup here would be guessing with my name on it. If you know the level, or your loved one is already there, [tell me](?tip=true) and this page gets real. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCC Yazoo City. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCC%20Yazoo%20City) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-fci-yazoo-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi # FCI Yazoo City Low (MS) FCI Yazoo City Low (MS) is a low security Federal Correctional Institution in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Yazoo City Low II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yam-fci-yazoo-city-low-ii-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi), [FCI Yazoo City Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yap-fci-yazoo-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi). Satellite unit on these grounds, covered separately: [FCI Yazoo City Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-camp-fci-yazoo-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-mississippi). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/yaz/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-fci-yazoo-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Yazoo City Low locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How low facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Yazoo City Low yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Lows are camps with a fence and a little more structure: usually dorm or cubicle housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), and a population serving longer sentences than you see at a camp. The culture is still workable. Keep your head down, hold a job, and the place is boring, which is the good outcome. Low-security culture transfers well from facility to facility. The day-to-day and the rules beneath the rules are pretty universal, so advice about one low mostly holds at another. The local variables are the ones this guide tracks: how the mailroom behaves, what the store (the prison store) charges, and what a stamp (the inmate currency) trades for on the yard (the rec area, or the whole compound). For families: visiting is structured but humane, phone and email (monitored text-only messages, not real email) work the same as everywhere in the system, and programs (education, RDAP (a drug program that can cut up to a year) where offered, work assignments) are the main levers on time. Push your loved one to get the needs assessment done the first week, because credits do not accrue until it is. Most first-time, nonviolent people land at a camp or a low. If you do not know the level yet, a low is the safe bet to plan around, and the plan barely changes if it turns out to be a camp. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Yazoo City Low. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Yazoo%20City%20Low) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-camp-fci-yazoo-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-mississippi # FCI Yazoo City Low Camp (MS) FCI Yazoo City Low Camp (MS) is a minimum security Federal Prison Camp in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Yazoo City Low II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yam-fci-yazoo-city-low-ii-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi), [FCI Yazoo City Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yap-fci-yazoo-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi). This is a satellite unit of [FCI Yazoo City Low (MS)](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-fci-yazoo-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi). Same grounds, its own rules and population. Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-camp-fci-yazoo-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-mississippi/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Yazoo City Low Camp locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How minimum facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Yazoo City Low Camp yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Camps are the version of federal prison nobody believes until they see it: often no fence, dorm housing, and a daily rhythm built around work assignments and count (the daily headcount where everything stops) times. The security is mostly administrative. People stay because walking away turns a short sentence into a long one, not because anything physical stops them. Day to day, the things that matter are small and concrete. Get a decent work assignment early, learn the count schedule cold, and figure out which rules get enforced and which are theater. The store (the prison store) runs weekly, the phone minutes (your monthly phone allowance) are rationed, and the internal economy runs on stamps (the inmate currency), which is why this guide tracks stamp rates in the first place. For families: visiting is usually the most relaxed in the system, mail (paper letters, opened and screened) moves reasonably fast, and the biggest early problem is emotional, not logistical. The first two weeks feel like the whole sentence. They are not. Camps run on routine, and routine, once it arrives, is merciful. I did my time at a camp, so if your question is camp-specific, ask it. This is the one level where there is very little I have not seen or sat next to. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Yazoo City Low Camp. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Yazoo%20City%20Low%20Camp) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yam-fci-yazoo-city-low-ii-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi # FCI Yazoo City Low II (MS) FCI Yazoo City Low II (MS) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Yazoo City Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-fci-yazoo-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi), [FCI Yazoo City Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-camp-fci-yazoo-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-mississippi), [FCI Yazoo City Medium](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yap-fci-yazoo-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/yam/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yam-fci-yazoo-city-low-ii-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Yazoo City Low II locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Yazoo City Low II yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Yazoo City Low II. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Yazoo%20City%20Low%20II) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out. --- Source: https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yap-fci-yazoo-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi # FCI Yazoo City Medium (MS) FCI Yazoo City Medium (MS) is a medium security Federal Correctional Institution in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Current status: normal operations. Last checked against the BOP's data on July 30, 2026 at 22:22 UTC. Other facilities at this complex: [FCI Yazoo City Low](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-fci-yazoo-city-low-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi), [FCI Yazoo City Low Camp](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yaz-camp-fci-yazoo-city-low-camp-federal-prison-camp-mississippi), [FCI Yazoo City Low II](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yam-fci-yazoo-city-low-ii-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi). [Official page on bop.gov →](https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/yap/) Last checked 1 minute ago. Status comes from the BOP (the federal Bureau of Prisons)'s public data, checked every five minutes. The BOP under-reports disruptions; treat "normal operations" as their claim, not a guarantee. [Lockdown history & day-by-day status →](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prisons/yap-fci-yazoo-city-medium-federal-correctional-institution-mississippi/lockdowns) ## Know when FCI Yazoo City Medium locks down. One email when visiting stops, one when it resumes. Checked every five minutes against the BOP's own data. Free, and unsubscribing is one click. ## The numbers | Housing (style of living quarters, like cells or dorms) | Unknown | | Stamp rate (what a stamp trades for on the compound, the currency of federal prison) | Unknown | | General store markup (the markup on items at a typical inmate-run store) | Unknown | | Photo limit (whether the mailroom actually counts photos against the limit) | Unknown | | Photo content rules (how strictly the content of photos is enforced) | Unknown | | Mail handling (how fast mail gets to inmates, and what gets scanned or rejected) | Unknown | | Visiting hours (when visits happen here, and any booking quirks) | Unknown | ## How medium facilities generally run. **Fair warning:** I don't have a facility-specific guide for FCI Yazoo City Medium yet. What follows is the honest general version for its security level, which covers most of what matters. The local quirks live in [the facility support groups](https://federalprisondude.com/resources/federal-prison-support-groups). Mediums are where the generic advice starts to run out, and I will be straight with you about that. Two mediums with the same designation on paper can run on completely different cultures: one quiet and programmed, another political in ways that change the daily calculus of everything from the TV room to the chow (the cafeteria) line. Structurally you can expect cell housing, controlled movement (you can only move in scheduled windows), longer sentences, and a yard (the rec area, or the whole compound) where social geography matters. The mechanics still work the same as everywhere: counts (the daily headcount where everything stops), commissary (the prison store), stamps (the inmate currency) as currency, program waitlists, FSA credits (time off earned through programming) for those who qualify. What changes is the margin for error. At a medium, the advice "keep to yourself and do your program" stops being a platitude and becomes an actual daily discipline. For families: expect stricter visiting procedure, slower mail (paper letters, opened and screened), and more lockdown (everyone confined, movement stopped) days that eat scheduled visits without notice. Do not read a week of silence as catastrophe. The boring explanation, a lockdown or a broken phone room, is usually the right one. Where I know a specific medium through people I trust, I say so on its page. Where I do not, the facility support groups are genuinely the better source, and I will point you there without pretending otherwise. ## Recent coverage No coverage on file for FCI Yazoo City Medium. Quiet is the normal state for most facilities; anything that clears review lands here. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Question%20about%20FCI%20Yazoo%20City%20Medium) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.